Child of mine
I will assure you an easy life
we will apply to the best schools
when you are two
When you are twelve
I will buy you the best technology
money can afford
little fat boy playing all day in front of your computer
When you are eighteen
We will get you into Harvard
I know someone on the Board
your college days are guaranteed and paid for
When you graduate
you have a job waiting for you at Goldman Sachs
you won’t know exactly what’s going down
but never mind, stocks right now are up
When you are 28 you will marry
into the right circles
live in a McMansion
taking rightful land from coyotes and bears
When you are 52
you will lose your job, your mortgage
downsizing they say
but you can move back with us for a bit
You will be “retrained” by the government
but there are no jobs, you see
so you drive a cab to pay for your family’s food
their medical insurance
You become ill, and need a kidney transplant
are you depressed? so asks your HMO doctor
trying to delay and divert vital tests and surgery
No, are you, doctor? You should be..and ashamed.
But never mind, son, life will be easy
in about 100 years
when we rid our government of crooked lobbyists
and have medical insurance equal to those of our congressmen
Not to worry, son, we’re old and fragile
but we’ll rear your children
while you and your wife look for work
wait tables, drive cabs, fight the banks, puppet bureaucrats
It’ll be easy son
peanut butter and jelly sammies
government cheese
soup kitchens
And when you’re old son..
if you haven’t died by the hand of a madman
toting an illegal gun
or by reading too many actuarial tables telling you it’s time to die
Don’t worry son,
life will be easy
They’ll just warehouse you in a snakepit
smelling of urine, abuse and death until you wished you were dead
But don’t worry, son,
We’ll not let you down
We will teach you the right values
so that you avoid greed, power, tricks, dishonesty
We’ll show you how to vote, son
So that it doesn’t make a difference which party is in power
You will have an easy life, son
We will not let you down
Maybe the time will come, son
when once again after all your blood, and tears
You say to your government
Ask not what I am giving to you
But what are you doing to me,
my children, America?
Well, son, not to worry
you will have an easy life
We are your parents
we will not let you down
And neither will your government.
-0-
In former times the future really looked better … : ( A well-aimed sharp lance! I especially enjoyed “McMansion” – I imagine a sort of taste-lacking prefabricated villa assembled from a catalogue.
You’re right! Life was simpler…/ The”McMansion” reference was coined several years ago with the advent of those taste-lacking phony French villa type homes..not prefabricated, but certainly looks as if they were…and very expensive. You got it right on! Thanks for the read and comment, Martin. Much appreciated!
Yes, I too worry about what there will be for my children and their children.
This is an eloquent rant and one that rings true. Sad, but true.
Thanks for saying so well what so many of us are thinking.
Hi, John! Yeah, I just had to get this off my chest. I don’t have children but I am concerned about future generations, and what’s in store for them…in so many ways. We are borrowing this country, this planet…and our stewardship is most wanting. Thanks so very much, friend, for your thoughts and comments!
)
oh the lies we feed them….like we are being fed…like….nope if a wonderland and you are entitled to it….cough cough….really nice ma’am….truth…
Yes…the lies we are fed…fed right back to the younglings…and they to theirs….and so it goes…weaving a very loose, unstable tapestry…not so pretty on both sides..both sides are the wrong sides… Thanks so much, Brian, for your read and comment!
agree…and always good to see you ma’am…hope the week is going well for you…smiles…
Hey Bri! Thanks for the second visit! Always welcome to my humble blog! Hugs, fella!
) xoxo
dang jackie… what a write, such a soothing voice but sharp like a knife…oh heck..where are we going…
That rant, Claudia, has been a long time coming….yeah, it’s a rough one…but the truth…where are we going….indeed! Thanks much for your read and comment. Much appreciated!
Again ~ you write in such a powerful style! Through story clarity & theme you take the reader through to the heart of such critical social issues! Such a great writer!!!
This issue of how our economy & the ‘political’ impacts real people is so critical to our future! Hopeful that our future can be different from the path that we seem to be running towards! Thank you for writing poetry in such powerful social commentary! THIS IS SO CRITICALLY NEEDED ~ again thank you!
How I wish America would wake up, Joanie…and see what you, and I and many others see but also seem powerless to change…because we simply don’t have enough numbers…or we just don’t care enough. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and comment as you have. I much appreciate your support.
) xoxoxo
Mom? . . .
excellent . . . gripped my attention . . . held it . . . well written: a great read
point made!!! ;D
Hahahahahaahahahaha! Mom, huh? I birthed you, and I’ll take you out…as well! Wise guy! Really pleased this gripped you! Whether you like it or not, you get a bone crushing hug. Now go out there and knock ‘em dead! Thanks much, A!
) xoxo
Frightening close to the bone Jacquie with such a powerful, direct tale of troubled timed and suffering of the common people. We all need to fo our part to take a stand against the greed and selfish policies of the rich elite who appear to be overlooking simple solutions to the economic starvation of wealthy western, developed, proud nations to line their own pockets and those of their cronies. I liked the message, but its an all too common situation. Thanks for sharing Jacquie
It is a common situation…unfortunately..now global. It seems that too many are satisfied to sit back and let the other guy worry for us. It all starts at home in very early childhood…teaching sane and unselfish values..We fall down here, in our schools, in voting, in productive protests..there are pockets of these protests, but not enough. The sixties are gone…but oh, how I would love to see that spirit again in the young. We are fat cats seemingly satisfied with our two car garages and a Sunday chicken in the pot. We need a rude awakening. Thank you, Andy, so much for your read and thoughtful response. Much gratitude
)
KA-POW!!!!! Tell it how it is, Jacquie! What a stunner of a poem … but how sad … so very, very sad x
Hi ya’, Peter …..Yep. it’s sad. It’s ugly. Truth is not always beautiful. And this had to be said. Painful for me to write…and painful for others to read. Many thanks for the read and comment, mate!
Powerful, hard hitting truth…well said, Jacquie! All the countries in the West need to wake up…something has to change xo
Thanks much, Lou…appreciate the support!
That’s a good rant, right there. So much of how we are right now is so ridiculously unsustainable. You caught it, nice and tight. Great writing!
Hi, Emily! Very pleased you like the writing and felt the message! And oh, boy, yeah, it was a rant….good to get it off my chest, at that. We need caring…numbers! Thanks so very much for your words and support here!
) xoxo
It’s gotten to the point where I just shake my head in disbelief at how people are able to be satisfied with the lies they are told, how they don’t question, just throw one set of bums out, then vote them back in, angry and disappointed, yet in an unending cycle of total apathetic disinterest in *why* this keeps happening. Great rant, great write, no matter what side of the political fence you are on. I’m starting to think it doesn’t even matter. ;_)
It doesn’t matter…because this is a prime example of absolute power corrupting absolutely. The two parties are more similar than dissimilar in deed. It’s frightful to watch, disheartening to know, and no one seems to care enough to change it. I want the sixties back…the lean, mean ones who meant business, who were unafraid or at least had the courage to dissent and get things done. Where are they? What’s happened to us? Are we totally lobotomized by chicken every Sunday and bigger and better mousetrap ipods and laptops? I rant again. Thanks Hedge for your words and support! Much appreciated.
xoxo
So true … it seems to be a global disease … and people suck it up because they are coming at life from their base natures … greed and envy and an overblown sense of entitlement … and so many live in Disneyland but unfortunately the villains win all the time
How to stamp out the villains, and when…before it’s too late is uppermost in my mind. Greed, envy, an overblown sense of entitlement, I think, are results of instilling all the wrong values in childhood. Or perhaps it’s stamped into our DNA. The world surely has become a Disneyland, nourished by MacDonald’s. Where are we all headed…perhaps we are programmed to self-destruct…perhaps we just need a very rude global awakening. I still have some hope..Thank you, M. for your words, your support…most grateful
xoxoxo
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Thank you very much!
This topic needs ranting. Unfortunately, too many of the mean and lean ones from the 60s and 70s are the ones who’ve learned to run and corrupt our government, our universities and big business. I guess we haven’t hit rock bottom yet. That’s a scary thought… Rant on, girl.
You make an excellent but very sad and true point here, Steve.. The lean and mean of the 60s have sold out and have corrupted our nation. So now what…do we look forward to our young doing the same? Scary indeed! I’ll rant again, for sure. Thanks so much, my friend for your words of support!
There are too many people not willing to think about the future. Things are okay for now…so they feel comfortable turning their heads when a majority of the world’s people are suffering at the hands of bureaucracy as we lose to a war they will win with form after form, passing the questions to the next guy while they hoard their pensions and know THEY WILL BE OKAY. It never ceases to amaze me, the number of people who can’t see through the propaganda, the lies. We are sacrificing not only the youth and ambition of the young, but so too are we watching the wisdom and knowledge of our elders be completely ignored and shoved under rugs…holy smokes, Poet…you have me writing a book here…my apologies…but the goosebumps are still racing up and down…Standing ovation from the nosebleed seats…I worked an eighty hour week and it’s all I could afford
Tash..write the book…write whatever broadsides that will wake up the sleeping, the non-caring. Open the window and shout it out. I’ll join you wherever and whever I can. Everything you say is sadly true. I don’t know what it will take to wake up the living dead…but it’s gonna be something drastic. Thank you so very much for your own poetic voice, your words, and your support! Hugs.:)) xoxoxo
Loved this piece, rings a lot of truth
It’s a sad truth, indeed. Thank you for your read and comment!
Hard truth…strong and intense write. So many disappointments in the world today. Great capture!
Thanks so much, A, for your words and support!
Wow. Just WOW! I think this is the best poem I have read in a LONG time. The world needs more to think like you. This is just so sad and heartbreaking…wow…what a poem.
Well, I’m floored and humbled by your response! I think more people think and feel this way than we might know…but certainly not enough to make a difference. We need a huge wake-up call to make meaningful changes, globally! Thank you so very much for your read and supportive comments! // I cannot find you at dVerse..Did you submit an entry?
I haven’t submitted anything yet this time around…did submit one at dVerse last time for open link night…Might submit one later…feeling the pressure!
Thanks for letting me know. Hey, don’t feel pressure…Do it only for the fun of it.
) xo
Strong truthful and yet done in soothing maternal way , hopefully the next generation will be Teflon coated ,they say what doesn’t kill us makes us stronger perhaps resilience is the next stage of evolution ! Thanks for sharing x x
Hi, Kez! I suppose my use of the word “son” rendered that maternal touch you’re talking about, but there was also a great deal of cynicism in my rant. I sure hope you’re right about resilience making us stronger in the next stage of evolution. Yours is an interesting take. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and comment! xoxo
Chilling and all too accurate – the future is now and karma comes to all I fear. Well expressed here – politically timely and astute!
Thanks, Gay! Your support here means alot!
I don’t think I took a single breath through every word Jacquie ~ *tears* ~ for that little child whose parents wanted so much, had so many dreams, hopes for their child ~ firstborn untouched by any of what the politicians have crafted ~ innocent, and as parent try to keep that innocence and protection, providing safe and secure ~ almost sometimes you wonder why we bring them into the world ~ certainly not to suffer ~ certainly not to be warehouse(d) … in a snakepit
smelling of urine, abuse and death until you wished you were dead … really got me this … as this is so scary at the hands of others, exercising their power and control over the vulnerabilities and frailty of others …. witnessed this myself first hand and I am angered and disgusted to this day but also terrified … I took great pleasure in blowing the whistle on these ..
and then your line if you haven’t died by the hand of a madman
toting an illegal gun’ WOW ~ and that precious child ~ gone! ~
now I inhale and exhale from full blown cheeks,
a MAGNIFICENT voice ~ yes we weren’t afraid in the sixties and seems we’re still chipping away ~ we need a bigger transparency ~ x x x x wonderful, wonderful, wonderful ~ x x x x *cheering* Lib
(I’m right beside you)
Were I true warrior, Lib, I’d be happy to have you right beside me! …We need to think who we want in that foxhole…but as you say, powers are taken from us…first because we allow it, and second, it’s so easy to take power and control over the sick, the feeble, the old…and the uneducated and poor. It is sad, indeed and presents a huge job for those who care to dissent and change things. Thanks so very much for your interest here, and your wonderful attitude and spirit. Much respect and love. xoxoxoxoxo
I was so hoping you were going to share this one Jackie! Such a compelling write…everything in the first comment X100!!! The perfect cry for change that we so very desperately need…off to share with the world…they need to read this!
O, Great, Tash! I thought this appropritate for that forum. Thanks so much for the opportunity! xoxoxo