I am sorry that

in the times to come,

in the unfolding evolution

of this fragile planet that suckles us,

I will not be there

to see your days

and witness your travails

and triumphs,

and offer some wisdom

to smooth the difficult paths ahead.

 

Yes, I am sorry

for the impressive legacy

that I

and all my generation of fools,

who once dreamed

of a great and certain future,

have left for you

to wrestle with

and to survive in its wake.

 

Perhaps, rightly,

you will curse us for it

because we did not

do more

and we did not

seek the best

in persuing our futile ambitions.

 

I am sorry

that in our deaf and

blind condition,

our terminal condition,

we filled our lives

with a lust to build;

and in our determined wish

to conquer,

we forgot about the future,

forgot that

on this tiny fleck of dust

in the expanse of

an incomprehensible universe,

we should have seen

what is coming,

we should have known

the troubles we have wrought,

and we should have listened

much earlier to the voices that said,

“Enough!”

 

15/3/2016