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