A Baby Boomer's Lament - Nov 11 2022

 

A Baby Boomer's Lament

Nov 11 2022

Before the baby boomers

did they speak of “generations”?

Or were all the children who came before

much of a muchness,

who would also grow up to be parents

and raise kids like themselves?

I resent being categorized

by date of birth

and demographic cohort,

as if I were not a person

in my own right,

an individual

instead of lost in the herd.

Of course, the things we have in common

generation or not

never really change;

our human flaws

and needs and wants,

our fears

vices

desires.

You see an old man with his grandchild

and begin to understand this.

That age is merely a number.

That you can be born an old soul.

That at any age

can find you're getting younger.

The Millennials.

The Xs and Ys

and generation Zs.

For some reason

they began to keep track

where the alphabet ends,

as if some impending Armageddon

would render any further generation

hypothetical.

So, is there something I haven’t been told?

It began with us.

The baby boomers,

who may have done badly

and bequeathed a damaged earth,

but at least were born

of exuberant hope

and belief in the future.

Sad to say

there will be more wars

and more babies born

in the aftermath.

And, in a speeded-up world

that's getting even more crowded

and heating up fast

more after that.

At least until

no boomers are lamenting

or young adults resenting

who came before,

no smart-ass teens

feeling bad about themselves

and reinventing the world.

Until hope is extinguished

and no letters are left.

Until no one's coming after

and no one's keeping track;

no children at play

to give the last generation

its name.