yet it feels like I’m stranger
wisdom bleeds from our wounds,
when we follow Occam’s razor
to secure a brighter future
but it seems like the apocalypse is
around every corner or is it just a rumor?
darkness seems like the dawn,
when kings, queens, and bishops
have you believing you’re the pawn,
to listen to a wistful word we say,
this is what life is like when
the world we know fades away.
About this Poem: This short piece was born as I started thinking about how quickly the world is changing for my generation (Gen X). When I thought about our childhood in the 1970’s I realized it had more in common with the 1950’s than it does with today’s society.
Aging is a funny thing, it sneaks up on you. One day you’re young, the next you’re complaining about potholes and don’t recognize any of the artists on music awards shows.
As I navigate my fifties I want to keep learning and continue to live life to the fullest. Most of all I want to preserve my open mind. I think this is the best formula to keep irrelevance at bay as long as possible. What do you think? Can you relate?
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Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive.
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There;s irrelevence to others, and irrelevence to yourself. I kind of like being irrelevent to some others. The pressure of living is greatly reduced.
and we put another in its place. I am grateful I am no longer driven by the same notions I was driven by in my thirties and forties. More relief from pressure.
Cool poem, it has me thinking deeply about the here and now.
Thanks and great point about being irrelevant to some others! I notice that as we age we become somewhat invisible to a certain segment of the population. I'm kind of enjoying that too.
I do not often feel invisible, and I am closing in (incredibly) on 70. I think visibility is a function of personal self esteem. A stage performer knows they can become visible or invisible, even on stage, via a simple shift of personal energy. Disregarded is different from invisible, and we are often disregarded, but a little persistence helps there.
I enjoy this piece and definitely feel the GenX perspective. GenX here. It’s a pleasure reading you. 🫶🏻
Thank you and cheers to a fellow GenX'r!
So true. It's the pitch of my life out of my own experience with life. Life is more than the sum of its parts. Sometimes we try to explore something unknown, not yet discovered, but we are also oblivious to what we are actually searching for.
The future is always mysterious, yet we all live today with hope for the future. Such a dichotomy life throws at us.
So true!
I think the same with you. Generation difference has been increased after 2000s. I am having difficulty while trying to find something common with Gen Z. The major reason of this is the technology.
It's going to change so much from this point, and much more quickly. I'm so happy that I was born before the internet and have experienced these waves of innovation.
Beautiful poem and I as a Millennial can feel the words behind it. I remember my childhood days with my grandparent in a village were people were so welcoming and you can live a happy life without any worries. That faded away pretty fast, most people with principles and traditions died, others with potential went away to foreign countries and only those with an appetite for drinking or stuck in their mind remained. A beautiful world faded away and now only a gray diversity of people remained with only a few sparkles of hope and goodness.
Thank you, it happens to every generation! I had a similar childhood, sheltered from the world at large. It was a nice kind of incubator to know what peace is. So many children now, especially if they're born in big cities don't get that now. If you know peace it's easier to rediscover it if it's lost.
When is your birthday, Eric? I agree with your vision. I feel that there are things that are beyond me. As a literature teacher, I try to be informed about everything, because I have to decipher youth codes, but I try to infuse my aroma into what I do. Students read poetry from the classics, listen to jazz, smell incense. I like to know that I leave a mark on them. That they see me on the street and say: Profa, Nancy, I always remember you. Sometimes it is not what we say, but the fiber we touch. The days go by and despite what we may think, there are still a thousand ways to connect. We just have to look for them. Have a good Saturday. Hugs
I was born in June (I'm a Gemini). Having that exposure to youth will keep you young! I think it's important to have the different generations in regular contact, we can learn so much from one another. We enrich each other's lives. That's something our culture used to understand but not so much anymore. I hope you're enjoying the last bit of your weekend. Thanks so much for stopping by!
family values, bonding together, and empathy are rooted in someone having time to listen and understand you. Generations after generation we are becoming more a machine than humans. That is why life is fading out.
But I like the last line.
That should be the way to lead a life.
Thank you, SIr, Eric, it really feeds my inner conscience.
Everything is cyclical so there's a chance all we've lost will come our way again. I'm glad you enjoyed the poem. Thank you!
You are so right about how childhood has changed, I've seen toddlers playing games on cell phones. We see kids living in the same house texting each other, whatever happened to real communication? The written word is way different to the spoken word!
People's minds are so distracted that they don't really listen.
Never grow old! I've seen young people with old mindsets, and that is so sad.
My mom was quite amazing as she had an open and accepting mind when it came to changes, but the last year of her life, she would often say
The world drastically changed once lockdowns ended, almost overnight.
But we need not be swallowed up by all of the negativity, rather look for and embrace the good things in life.
Have a great Sunday Eric.
Everything you've said is correct, Lizelle! I want so bad to stay curious/open and to keep the bitterness, isolation, and negativity that oftentimes accompanies age at bay for as long as I can. It's awfully easy to think the generation we grew up in was the best but nothing is black and white. There's good and bad in everything. I hope you enjoy your weekend! How is your recovery coming along. Will you be in top form for your trip?
Of what I know of you, my friend, I would definitely not think of you as someone with an old or out-of-touch mentality (or with a closed mind!). You kidding? I complain about potholes, rude kids, and have no idea who's at the award shows, either. I don't think it's a sign of being out of touch, quite the contrary, of recognizing your own frequency ;)
This sums up so well these dystopian, apocalyptic (?) times. And it's got great flow. Daytime feels like dead of night. Goes beautifully with the soft tone (I perceive, at least) of the rest of the poem.
I try, my friend, and will keep trying to beat irrelevance into submission. Lol. When I feel the negativity taking hold I do something to shift my mentality to gratitude. That frees us from the paralyzation that happens when we stay in a negative state.
Yeah, the cycle we're in now is a really weird one. It's leaving people not knowing which way is up. The powers that be have herded, naturally moderate societies, in the direction of the two extremes. Something beautiful is about to be born though, I can feel it. I just hope we can survive unscathed before this reawakening happens.
I 100 % agree with you, the lifestyle we have adopted these days has a lot of good and bad things, and it is also changing very frequently. In my point of view, the life style we had in the past was the best and we are getting into difficulties as we are moving away from nature. That's my point of view. your could be different.
Yes, I think tech is evolving too quickly for us to adjust to it in real-time but eventually we will and will rediscover our balance.
yes but it will take time
Perfect, "groovy" gif to accompany your mind provoking poem.
As an old soul with a spirited soul, I have never been a fan of being labeled / stereotyped by the year of my birth and being stuck into some invisible graph with a start and end year.
Keeping an open mind sounds like part of the perfect plan as we navigate forward into our 5th decade and beyond.
I savor mindful moments. Your Mindful Moments book sounds interesting and insightful. I wish you successful sales! @ericvancewalton 💯📚📈
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Thanks, I searched forever until I found that .gif! I was happy that it worked on so many different levels. Keeping an open mind is everything! It's the flexible trees that survive the storms, the rigid ones are the first to fall. I appreciate the kind words and I hope you have a great week ahead!
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I thought that was a record spinning at first in the photo! Very nice poem! Things definitely have changed haven't they.
That's awesome that you saw it that way! I thought it was interesting that it was revolving counter-clockwise. Thank you my friend!
It seems to me that we are just getting older, growing up and getting smarter, whatever, and the world around us becomes different, everything changes for the younger generation in it well, we measure everything with old standards. My daughter says we are the lost generation and I say they are the lost generation :)
Yes, we're all changing, every minute of every day. The trouble is when we start believing we aren't and try to stay static. Then we wake up and feel lost.
Being a literature student I have special affection for poetry. Generation gap is always a debatable topic because even I sometimes cant describe the things to my parents because of generation gap. So accept the difference with open heart.
Accepting the differences and attempting to bridge that gap is so important!
Poetry is a beautiful way to express our feelings, and say things that can't be expressed with normal gramatical sentences. We have poetry, and should move us to a better way to understand our existences.
Things keeps changing as we experience them and she as well and the difference is even more clear with the generation of now compare to the 50s and 70s.
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