The Generations

A friend of mine--roughly half my age--
And I despair when we consider
The younger set. We view them with pity,
If not disdain, as they consistently seem to be
Vapid, indolent, self-absorbed,
Drifty, negligent, easily dazzled
By media shadows and shallow trends,
Superficial, and indifferent to
Those things we regard as truly important.
"Sure, at a distance they appear
To wear the stamp of the human ideal,
Attractively packaged, but when you meet
And they open their mouths... Bang and ka-boom!
The illusion is shattered, and all admiration
Is swept aside."
But, looking back through history,
Wasn't it ever that doubtful way
Between one torch-bearing age and the next,
Who had its own torches to light and raise?
Yet somehow, the kids always carry it off.