Generation 1999

Generation 1999

It's in the headlines
in the tabloids
on the lips
of people
knocking on my door
almost before the sun comes up
"the end is almost here"

As children we were taught
to fold ourselves
under our desks at school
fallout shelter salesmen
knocked on our doors

and we knew
we were the first
generation
that could be
annhilated
in less time
than it takes
for a soulful kiss

and when we got older
our parents said:
"What's wrong with this generation?
they live like there's no tomorrow."

Most of us are seeing
middle age
in the mirror
in the morning . . .

and our children
are standing in
supermarket lines

where blaring headlines
announce the end
of the world . . .

 . . .watching people
stream
toward sem-hostile
borders
bombs and mines
flare
and boom behind them

some kids garb
a school
in explosives

Do you know the world
is coming to an end?

. . . But my tulips are up again
leaves unfurl on brown branches
young rabbits dart across my lawn

Everywhere is the music
of birds who have made
the long journey again.

Water falls
from the sky
and changes
 the color of the grass

We interpret symbols
and imagine we're equipped
to portend the future.

The wheel of fortune turns

Who stands to gain
from saying "THE END!"

Who stands to lose?

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(c) 2008 Binnings