The Older I Get (A Poem)

Image Courtesy of Pixabay

I remember a world where people were nicer.

Or perhaps that’s just a flaw in my memory.

A time when kids could go to school

And we knew they’d be out of harm’s way.

I could have sworn we once had liberty and happiness.

Maybe it was just a dream.

Could it have started out that way

And we all just ran out of steam.

All I know is, each day, I grow 24 hours wiser

And I can see things not going as I was led to believe they were planned.

The older I get

The less I understand.

Wasn’t there a time when our elected officials were heroes,

And not just something in a comic book?

When did we reach a point where

So many of them are crooks?

Did the change happen gradually?

Did it sneak up on us, like a sudden cough?

Or has it always been this way

And the brainwashing is finally wearing off?

All I know is, each minute, I grow 60 seconds wiser

And the hope I had for the future grows less with each movement of the clock hand.

The older I get

The more I become a cynical man.

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Steven Helmer Publications