Letter to the badgers: what I would say to my younger self

Hey Badgers, Alison, Karen and Hannah, I made a poem about what I would say if I were my younger me’s father.

It is about the experiences I have had as a young boy in this society and I felt like I wanted to share it with you guys cause I think you do phenomenal work and I hope this poem touches maybe a few people out there.

“My son of times past

Hey there, I have been wanting to say something to you, me of the past.

To you who as a child never truly had a father,

To you who overcame your fear of the scary unseen,

To you who walked into this scary big world of ours,

To you who didn’t even know what you were doing,

I want to tell you, I want to tell you don’t be afraid,

Me of the past, I want you to listen,

You who got knocked down time and time again, I want you to listen,

You who walked into the lion’s den unbeknownst to the hardships hidden inside,

You who so innocently followed them, You who looked up to they who hide their face,

I want you to listen,

You who to the sound of their voice walked into the beast’s maws,

You who trusted them till the very end,

I want you to know, I want you to know that you can be,

Me of the past, I want you to understand,

You who stood up to them, every time they tried to bring you down,

You who fought for your ideals, no matter how harsh the odds,

You who despite knowing you were right could still bring up the courage to question

You who learned despite having no one to teach,

You who made one mistake after another,

You owned up to every single one,

You who learned from every mistake you made,

You made right every last one,

I want you to know, I want you to know you were not wrong,

You alone who questioned what all others were taught,

I want you to know,

You alone who was the odd ball that no one sought,

I want you to know, I want you to know,

You alone who stood in the play ground having no one but your thoughts,

You alone who faced the pain of loneliness that everybody knew there was,

You alone who endured the suffering of everyone you held dear, leaving,

I want you to know,

You who ran, Ran far from where the pain was hiding,

Waiting for the time it stopped,

Only you,

Only you were alone enduring the doubts of others,

Only you who was hiding in the corner, running from the people who said “No you are not”

I want you to know,

You whose only option was hiding, running from they who wore the smiling masks,

You saw they who’d smile upon your misery and they who’d laugh over the sounds of your pain,

You saw they who talked behind the backs of others,

You saw they who only have their smiling masks to hide their shame,

I want you to see, my son of times past, I want you to see the self you have hidden,

The self that had decided on a path, I want you to see the path you have taken and I want you to follow it till the very end,

straying not a single time from the road you have chosen, I want you to know,

this is what you sought,

Today let me be your father,

The father you felt you never had,

Let me advice you like a parent would,

So you may be happy in the end, Let me be your father,

So we may be happy once again,”

I want to emphasise my thankfulness to you guy again for the work you guys do and I hope you keep doing it, Merijn

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