It is not because I laud
Those thoughtless enough to ask
All the whys and hows
Of the minutia in my past

It is not for those who scorn
Who laugh and misunderstand
Who justify their actions
As byproducts of this land

It is not for the ignorant,
The unappreciative or dull
I don’t choose to suffer
by watching these people mull

It is because there’s something
So deep it is barely sensed
A certain spirit, a definite hope
A promise of transcendence

It is for all of those who aspire
Whose yearning has reached no end
The forgotten, and the trampled
Only they can comprehend

It is for the people I left behind
Who could only say goodbye
Who knew I had to go
Despite my forlorn cries

Even in the midst of tears
They only wished me well
The future is bright, they told me,
As my childish innocence fell

It is because they sacrificed
That I am me today
If I ever try to thank them
They assure me it was the only way


I’ll persevere through all of this
I’ll live out their dreams at last
I don’t hear the skeptics around me
I hear the voices of my past

Today I’m just another
Another face floating in the crowd
But I promise you that someday
I’ll make my grandparents proud