Sorry That The World We Leave You...

sorry that the world we leave you

          is less than the one that we got

sorry that the fish are poisoned and

          grandma's house is gone

sorry that the farms are bulldozed and

          all you can see are miles of suburbs

sorry that it's all so expensive

          and all the good stuff is gone

sorry that we built it all out

          and you find stripmalls everywhere

sorry that the place is crawling

          with way too many people

sorry that the birds and frogs

          have all gone far away

sorry that that favorite lake of your childhood

          is surrounded by our huge houses

sorry that the stars are gone

          because of all the lights

sorry that we armed the world

          but left you without healthcare

sorry that you cannot find

          a quiet place to fish

sorry that we filled the air

          with poisons from our cars

sorry that we turned the farm

          into a corporate concentration camp

sorry that we sat by numbly

          3 hours every day, watching television

sorry that we lost the skein

          that bound us to our past

sorry that it got so warm

          all the lovely glaciers melted

sorry that the tigers left

          and the rhinos shuffled off

sorry that the orangs split

          and the leopards can't be found

  

sorry that you are so many

          that the earth cannot provide for you

sorry that we stripped the wilderness

          before you got to see it

sorry that our life's desires

          were no more than commercial fantasies

sorry that there's not much water

          and most of it is simply filthy

sorry that we fed you food

          that was full of chemicals and pesticides

sorry that you'll always find

          our discarded plastic on the ground

sorry that we didn't teach you

          the frugal ways of our grandfolks

sorry that the sun's so hot

          and the rain has ceased to fall

sorry that we used up the oil to drive to work alone

          spewing smog and sipping coffee on the phone

sorry that we could not tell

          between the bigger and the better

sorry that you learned from us

          that learning is for losers

sorry that we gave control to

          the faceless conglomerates that now under-employ you

sorry that in your empty lives

          you can only search for fun

sorry that you have spent far more time

          playing video games than reading

sorry that we raised you by example

          to be as ruinous as us

sorry that we never saved a penny

          and now expect that you to support us

sorry that if you even listened now that we are old

          we never took time to think of what we would say

sorry that you missed the time

          before we came this way