Generations

So your generation changed the world?
You protested war, camped at Greenham.
You fought in wars for freedom, or wars of imperialism.
You dodged the draft, you called for peace.

So your generation changed the world?
With the summer of love, you called for change.
The sexual revolution, women’s liberation.
You saw what could be, and worked to make it real.

So your generation changed the world?
At Selma called for civil rights,
In Europe made human rights real.
You knew things could be better, you drove change.

So your generation changed the world?
At Selma you clubbed and gassed,
Kept down those you feared for no reason.
You saw that things could change and were frightened.

So your generation changed the world?
You kept the cold war simmering,
The fear of the other that began to burn the world
Never dying, but smouldering, ready to ignite.

So your generation changed the world?
So did mine.
We grew through the changes that you never saw
–until they were gone.
When we came of age we took the ball
–and kept it rolling on our own, in so many directions.
We saw the potential for new technology and made it real
–the good and the bad.
We saw a world shrinking, everything coming closer
–and made it fit right into our pockets.

So your generation changed the world?
So did mine.
So will theirs.

Written January 2020