Youth, what are you worth?

Youth, what are you worth,
wherever you find yourself
in the corner of your mind

Are you worth more
than your unemployed comrades
behind the security fence

Are boys worth more
than what girls are

Are you blue-eyed and blonde ones
worth more than the frizzy-haired
flat- and wide-nosed ones

Is a young rugby player (a "springbok")
worth more than a young swimmer
of the Olympic variety

A young sex worker on the streets
a politician just starting out
full of promises not yet empty

What are you worth,
unemployed youth
(youth in standard grade)

Are you just voting fodder
for electioneering parties
of older folk and even older ideas

Youth, what is your value,
to yourself, your community,
to society, your country

Youth, do you remember
what we are celebrating
commemorating once more

Youth, do you remember
June 16 1976
before and after

Youth, what are you worth,
does it matter to you today
what this political holiday
is all about

Will it make tomorrow
any the better if you did

Thursday, June 07, 2007, revisiting June 16 1976, like we do every year.

- David Kapp