A badge upon your blazer
That glint abreast your chest
Speaks of a small glory
A high school kid, prefect.
Those letters spelt in plastic gold
What things to you they've daily told
"You're special, bright, you will succeed..."
But fervent hopes build every need

To me, I see
A privileged girl
Worked hard to gain
Good marks, in vain.
An A, a B,
What's that forsee ?
Entrance to university ?
Endless possibilities,
Excitement fuels your path to be.

Yet in your rush, you bump into
A woman standing by the corner,
Shoulders slumped, a penny hoarder.
She lifts her eyes, in blank surmise
You walk on by, apologize.

But in those eyes
You briefly glimpsed
A different world, a harsher world,
Of sorrow, struggle, tragedy. 
 
Sadness I don't want to see
Eyes shut to reality
Just focus on what I want to be
What if the what just isn't me ?

What if I fall
Can't close my eyes
I'm on the streets,
Nothing to prize
And privileged girls
Lost in dreamy hazes
Float blindly past
Golden badges on their blazers.