21· what happened? — Summary

Here's to the kids, the ones that were never heard, who were expected to become perfection, and loose themselves, their lives like fragile jars. Crack. Here's to the kids, the ones who couldn't forget the sound of the screams, he says he didn't mean to hurt you, but you've heard that too often to cry anymore, and now all that is let is a loveless pulse, can't even think anymore. Empty. Here's to the kids, that lost it all, in the burning pits of fire, the adjacent lines, blur and begin to daze you, so you loose track of time, between the drugs and drinking, where'd the years go? Gone. Here's to the kids, the ones who hoped once upon a time, before it was crushed like innocent daisies, now deprived of basic emotion, you wished for a better day, and you swore you'd give anything, so you sold your life away, to those who never cared, when all we needed was love. Destruction. Here's to the kids, the adults of this world, who grew up too quickly, and put away the fairy tales, they allowed you to dream, and laugh like a happy fool, but even the best of us forget, too late. Shrivelled. Here's to the people who pretended, who fought, who lied, who stole, who hated, who felt pain, here's to human kind. What happened?

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Written as a series of toasts, the poem raises a glass to young people who were let down. Each "Here's to the kids" opens a new stanza and a new kind of damage: pressure to be perfect, a home filled with screaming and empty apologies, drugs and drinking that swallow the years, and hopes that were "crushed like innocent daisies." Each stanza ends on a single blunt word, such as "Crack," "Empty," "Gone," "Destruction" and "Shrivelled," like a door shutting.

The speaker sounds tired, angry and grieving all at once. The shift to "we" in "all we needed was love" suggests they count themselves among these kids. In the last lines the toast widens to everyone, "human kind," and the closing question, "What happened?", echoes the subtitle. The mood is bleak and raw, but the question also feels sincere, as if the speaker still wants an answer.

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