Unremembered
When I was a child
the mornings burst with birds
I’d count their songs
practising my numbers
one day I counted as many
as my grandmother was old
so far this spring
I have counted only one more
than my granddaughter’s years
When I was a child
there were so many fireflies
it was as if the sky had spilled
all of its stars into the yard
when my daughter was the
same age there were only
three fireflies all evening
she knew something was missing
When I was a child
a forest fire was a thing of legend
far away and rare
now my grandchildren
have born the smoke hazed air
wherever they have lived
as have I since their birth
When I was a child
industrial barons and their bribes
were already preparing the world
successful as they are
in everything they do
they have bequeathed life’s absence
a poisoned silence is all
our grandchildren will ever know
having nothing else to remember
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