look down your pants, there's your answer

kids don't want to work

anymore.

when was the last time a kid

knocked on your

door and offered to mow your lawn,

or wash your car, for a few bucks.

walk your dog?

and when it snowed, kids used

to prowl

the neighborhood looking

for a driveway to shovel,

or to help free a stuck car.

we used to search for empty

pop bottles

to get the two cents in return.

now kids are staring into their phones.

dopey, half educated,

depending on parents

or the government to pay their way.

go fund me.

tattooed and pierced,

hopelessly confused,

unsure if they're girls or boys.

back in the day, 

we looked down our pants

and that's how we knew

what we were.

you either had one, or

you didn't have one.

there's your answer.

it's really not that difficult

to figure out.