Cover art by Sahra Vang

Copyright © January 2011 by RIOT IN THE SKY™1st Edition | Digital Version

surplus

an epic poem

by sahra vang nguyen

I.Bewilderment strikes my brain every time I witness children become teachersStepping away from the classroom conundrum Electrify mind controlExpose new lessons located at the intersection of madness and ingenuity Such unconventionality and extremity spewing from the budding consciousnessI contemplate the possible domains for which they learn to scream unspoken semantics Learn to fall off the sidewalkLearn to turn clocks backwards against parental discretion Learn to climb rooftops swinging bottles with eyes-wide praying for a chance to drown away in the galaxy of forgotten gemsLearn to tattoo wings on their backs because they say earth is a hellLearn to huff stars in the backseat of a Honda Civic, draped in a velvet night to feel invisible yet simultaneously integralLearn to construct enemy lines in a narcotic nationLearn to purge peace within themselvesLearn to turn inwards for a beating of the belly no punching bag can escape

surplus by sahra vang nguyen

Learn to be so disgusted with the reflection in the mirrorLearn to feed off the fear of growth starving bottoms hollow Learn to perform an isolated exorcism against the self-induced loathing of inner being Learn to delicately slit their silken shield to straddle the realms of pain and pleasureLearn to catch staccato breaths in the suffocating onslaught of deathLearn to break Pinnochio’s nose offLearn to slay the loner with slingshots and slurs Learn to crucify their peers on the monkey barsLearn to corner another child for size and sexuality into the closet, into the dumpster, into exclusion, into self-destructionLearn to start cyber wars that manifest in suicidal contempt Learn to cut others with the viral creation of rumors, feverishly spreading amongst the masses, negatively accumulating missile power, ultimately finding its way back to the victim who has already begun to drown and with the extra combustion, drifts to the depths of abandonment with all momentum lost Learn there is no school without cruelLearn the red and green wiring for timely weaponryLearn to transform school into a warzone and dangle the gift of life across a hostage’s faceLearn to sacrifice the innocent in order to live out a bloodthirsty imagination

surplus by sahra vang nguyen

Learn to turn sadistically perverse fantasies into unfathomable nightmares into unspeakable realityLearn to blur the distinction between reality and agonyLearn to set up makeshift alleyway clinics to strangle premature babies Learn to swing baseball bats for smashing skulls atop concreteLearn to make ruthless attacks on walking reflections of suicide pilots Learn to dehumanize an entire nation down to the red dotLearn to steal unwrapped gifts from the virgin templeLearn to stack ten plus bodies on an innocent fifteen year old girl, banging the consciousness out of her mind and thrusting her barren vessel underneath a park benchLearn to draw the world blind and imagine crimson explosion with the tug of a triggerLearn to see the tunnel of life through the barrel of a gunLearn to surrender to the fatalistic mentality, ease the fear of failure because nothing is with fault Learn to find slumber in the hysteria of mind over matter over mindLearn to ask questions in the areas where no answers exist Learn that suicide must be a one-way ticket into a heaven disputed Learn the pains of dreamingLearn to want more but never having enoughNo surplus for twenty-one plus years.

surplus by sahra vang nguyen

II.Why do so many youth call upon death before life has barely begun?Unborn bullies and mini Machiavellis Slip peers through a noose of loose slander to hang humiliatedHomophobia at its finest hourSticks and stones—now the Reaper’s melodyThe psyche is more fragile than the physical How many girls must take their own lives Before the rest of the world decides they are ready to address disparaging tunes against women?Just another sing-a-long until the corpses emerge.

Have we forgotten that children know nothing until they are taught?Children know nothing until they are taught.Watch and learn—Big brother isn’t the only one scanning with eager eyesEvery channel, every street corner, every moment becomes teacher Default education leads children to the brink of WonderlandLost in a labyrinth of hallucinationsSome prefer to never wake upThe world looks better with both eyes shut

surplus by sahra vang nguyen

“Take me back to Neverland” they beg while standing on the edgeBecause no one ever taught them how to fly on EarthNo one ever taught us how to fly on EarthThey teach, “Money doesn’t grow on trees!”No time to plant seeds and wait for fresh fruit to matureMost will end up rotten, falling to the bottomAnd growers forget they are responsible for the whole batchHow many years will it take for the mind to ripen before the world can taste its sweet juices? Perhaps too long to find outStrange fruit sways with the rhythm of the pendulum Blood and money running the course of time Puts us all at the mercy of expulsionFibers of education filter out the highly potential yet lowly expected for greatness The prove-yourself-process came too many years too earlyIf there is no performanceThere is no payIf there is no payThere is no performanceIf there is no performanceThere is no payWhen does a new day start?There are not enough business models to save the state of our childrenA capitalist system minimizes risk factors with young

surplus by sahra vang nguyen

mavericks1. Invest in only the best2. Invest in only what the nation needsToo many children topple the trade-off Life equated We refuse to funnel more money So we rob our children insteadA Robinhood backwardsTime twists our imagination until a warped reality appears:Faithful followers of conventional steps to success have been systematically pawned!$200,000 in debt before the first job out of collegeIf they ever make itFinancial shackle for decades Freedom proves to be an illusionWhen do they start living?No wonder why adults have forgotten how to dream.

Displaced children of overpopulated classrooms Aimlessly search for belongingMaybe the heavens will take themCrown our children with a ring of faith America failed to seePerhaps the prisons will house them Keep them barred from savage streets in antagonistic irony Perchance the rabbit hole will swallow themToss their marbles around for chimera to catch Dismissed faces that shall never be missed

surplus by sahra vang nguyen

Ancient pipes run smoother without congestionSchool bells ring like a metronomePotential slowly wastes away with the ticking of timeFreedom is a stranger to these halls.

This population is a problemSo much promise Not enough time to prove it Not enough patience to foster itNot enough pay raises to sustain itNo advance for the class failuresThe world can’t waitMore money now or else there aren’t enough problemsWatch and learn how to become the internationally most hated nation The golden apples of our era grow themselvesNo public advance necessary—inherent advancements inherited privatelyThere can only be so many drivers running the machine There aren’t enough jobs for the livingChildren have no chance No timeNo dollar signChildren are the failing business of the 21st century Is it too late to shut this operation down?No surplus for 21 plus years.

surplus by sahra vang nguyen

III.Children!The forgotten facet of futuristic gloryLost morality amongst caretakersA system corrupt denies all accountability Disadvantages become premeditated advantages for maintaining world orderA generation grows into ignorance without knowing the difference between oblivion and blissA mother’s womb is the last havenIn life we see the union of night and dayThe baby’s body floats like a crescent moon illuminated Curious wanderers of the worldCrawl with a precious light in their eyesThe beauty of truth uncontained strikes a blinding glare On pedestrians who prefer walking in the shadeAvoid the burden of overexposure.

Children!Behold a case of the greatest contradiction Are they a miracle or a disaster?Are they vulnerable or dangerous? Are they an investment or a trade-off? Children—simultaneously heralded as society’s greatest hopeAnd most feared renegade

surplus by sahra vang nguyen

Cradle rockers threaten the foundation of ivory towersEverything is nothing until meaning is appliedPerception surpasses realityYou can’t tell a child what isn’tThe untamed perspective is wildly vastMore than the conditioned gazeChildren bare the audacity of asking ridiculous questionsA thirst for infinite knowledge Prolific inquiry stirs the infrastructure of Masonic pyramidsThe peak doesn’t feel so out of reach When dogmatic blockades crumbleStep inside another’s mind To walk a tight ropeOr frolick in the plainsOr swing through the jungleExperience the timing of ignorance before it soursDoes the danger lie in not knowing or knowing too much now?

Children!All the things we can learn from themChildrenAll the things we learn about ourselves in them Will the world ever admitWe have more than we choose to care for?Regress into a newborn state of mindWhen the unthinkable was the best idea yetProtocol is futile

surplus by sahra vang nguyen

The higher Wall Street climbsThe deeper it digs its own ditchNot enough figures can save usA suffocation of material mummificationGraves become flooded with coming-of-age spoils Have we cheated ourselves of the greatest surplus only time can afford?The tragedy of uncultivated talentLeads to the unsung hero’s demiseWe will forever be in debtDrowning in the abyss of disenchantmentIf we fail to resolve the crisis in our mindsAnd continue to believe in children asNo surplus for 21 plus years.

surplus by sahra vang nguyen

www.riotinthesky.com

Sahra Vang is a writer, painter and an advocate for all things good! For artwork, blog and extend-ed bio, visit her website at www.riotinthesky.com

For questions, comments and collaborative inquiries, holla: info@riotinthesky.com