Tried As An Adult

You will be tested in your beliefs
You will be shaken under your foundation
You will be forced to defend the guilty
You will be witness to the birth of a new nation
You will be tardy before your time
You will have everything you need in the world
You will be asked for your honest opinion
& then be sorely misunderstood

You will be fearless in the eyes of pain & guilt
but shameful in the eyes of yourself
You will be tried as an adult, but you've committed no crime

You will be cautioned without explanation
You will spend weeks upon weeks in queue
You will be expected, but never asked it
You will waste time & chalk it up to paying dues
You will be everything you thought you never wanted
You will catch grief from the passing heads
You will be poorly translated & then
You will be blamed for things you never said

You will be made to play the game & then
the game will change unannounced
You will be tried as an adult, but you've committed no crime

You will be tempted by uncertain freedom
You will be overruled again & again
You will be hero in the mind of a stranger
but then be forced to wear the lampshade now & then

You will look up at the moon & stars at night
& ask God 'is this all that I get?'
You will be tried as an adult, but you've committed no crime