Middle Managing - May 2 2024

 

Middle Managing

May 2 2024

The abandoned gravel pit,

where the cool kids

cut class.

Where they'd dragged a ratty sofa and some sleeping bags

and sat strumming guitars.

Where they passed doobies hand-to-hand,

laughing at bad jokes

that seemed hilarious.

And where they drank warm beer,

turned a boom box full blast

(it was back in the day),

and stared vacantly off into space

because where else was there to look?

There was some fumbling sex, for sure,

but buzzed or not

they only went so far

where others could watch.

While kids like me

who were straight-edge

and cared about marks

looked down on them as losers,

not nearly as cool

as they thought themselves.

But secretly, we were envious;

the freedom

we denied ourselves.

Or at least deferred

to the fabulous future

we were earnestly working toward.

Since then, I’ve lost track

and don’t know how they ended up.

As pregnant teens

and absentee dads?

As stoners and drop-outs

who dodged the draft?

Or as gonzo novelists

tech entrepreneurs?

I hope not politics,

even though I bet they’d do well;

because they’re naturally charismatic,

and have already shown they believe

they’re above the rules.

Could it have been

that they were smarter than us

and simply bored by school?

That despite an unpromising start

they went on to great things;

while we married up,

settled down,

got respectable jobs?

Except, that is

when our own the kids turned into teens,

middle managing

lost its appeal,

and the mortgage was up for renewal.

We’d waited all that time

for pot to be legal,

then got ourselves a bong

and started toking as well.

Too late, I’m afraid

to do much good.