I watched caricatures of my generation
voraciously consume the future
eating luxury sold by pitchmen
and whores in the finest fashion
feathers of the ravaged world festooned
divorced from consequences
defined by delusion
stealing life from their children
for their fast boats and trucks on a joyride
off impending cliffs shrouded in entitlement
leftovers in the trash washed down by bloodies
for breakfast and the daily’s dealings in the markets
…I have watched from a far remove
appalled but trapped by the cruel
economics of profit profit profit
at any cost become the real bottomline
no cost too great for the estate
rough humor girds confidence
certainty of so little examined
so much left by the roadside
trampled underfoot in the stampede
guys married to the sporting life
bet on the game memorize the stats
celebrity chatter on every channel
…Philosophers weep words that go unread
scientists despair birds cry nature’s song
now a plea for life itself
not heard over the rumble of the engines
and the squeal of the tires en route to ruin
children wake from sleep to their nightmare
wave their arms, ask for help from those
who have forgotten about the presence of the future
all their daily deeds shrouded in a fog of certainty
somewhere someone listens and weeps
and then wakens