Age of 55
Coming of Age
Sitting on my front porch
Watching the world go by
I wonder what I’ve learned
At the age of 55?
What were the 60’s all about?
Did we need to yell and shout
As young men died and distant wars raged
Did we learn anything in the haze?
Coming of age in the 70’s
Not long after Vietnam
I learned from the media
Not speaking up, thing go wrong.
The 80’s gave us disco
And songs everyone knew
With aerobic dance in colorful leotards
And jogging in Nike shoes
But the shadow of war
In the 90’s loomed wide
As our smart bombs and rockets
Lit a distant desert sky
Retaliation came to our unwatched shore
As great towers fell, floor by floor
A new patriotism built from fear
Started the new millennium, goals unclear
Yet a decade goes by and
Bombs still fill the distant desert sky
Pat downs at our airports
Will not soon subside
Pulling troops out of one desert
To battle somewhere else
Does not bring peace to people who
Can’t accept the differences within their selves.
Desert Storm, Vietnam, Korea and WW2
When will we learn and surmise
This planet cannot, will not survive
If we continue to conquer and divide.
Sitting on the front porch
Watching the world go by
Have I learned anything
At the age of 55?
Copyright © Kristie Raburn | Year Posted 2017
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