Poem - Letter to the Old

[kokopelle]

I am coming up on age 50, a half of a century. I am truly blessed to interact with adults half my age or younger. They have a vitality that inspires me. They are also have the future. Chris de Burgh wrote the song "I'm Counting On You". It is song by a father to his daughter. It has bone chilling lyrics like "My generation is losing its way, we don't know what we're leaving for you". My generation has an incredible amount of baggage. I am seeing a fresh broom in the upcoming generations. I also wonder about the world that will be theirs when they are my age. The poem “Letter to the Old” speaks to the value and nature of youth relative to older generations.


Letter to the Old
Poem for Day 069 – 20150310

Age is not wasted on the young.
It is their fertile ground
to grow and blossom
if the world does not interfere.
Damned be you if damage you do
to those who are in your care.
Do not pass your brokenness
to a generation yet to bloom.

So much potential yet untapped,
mistake not the delayed progress.
There is much yet to come,
look to the future as it unwinds.
Until then do your best
to guide them with light hand.
Be warned of your influenced limited,
of youth's immunity to your grace.

Your knowledge is void,
suspect from the start.
Stained by your mistakes
and blurred with your age.
Edges sharp with youth
not yet numbed with age.
They speak their mind
with words you've forgotten.

Life seen through new eyes
lessons yet to be learned,
mistakes to be made,
and wisdom to be earned.
Perhaps they will best your hand,
one can only hope for this blessing.
The youth will own the world
when the rest of us have passed.

© 2015. Sean Green. All Rights Reserved