We set them apart like diamonds among rocks,

without all the shine

We recycle our dreams into them

like the eager pouring of old wine

A world full of lukewarm enthusiasts.

Achieving without the work

Loving without the hurt

Believers without a cross to carry

Hope without the fear it marries

Entitled and undeserving with a bravery that’s unnerving

We gave them what we had and what we didn’t

We expected it to make them better versions of who we should have been.

They are the remnants of us, bits and pieces of our lust

Gathered together

Desperately tethered

Wearing the mark of our failings and honors

Fighting to balance the past and the future

With us on their shoulders