Modern Generation Gap
I wish some young folks’ touchiness was less extensive,
_So more of them could ponder this apt dictum—
Some things can be perceived as other than offensive,
_Thus there are ways to feel besides a victim.
Worries
Of the large and small matters I’ve worried about
_Due to things that I read or I’ve heard,
And the fears that I solely devised on my route
_Maybe one percent ever occurred.
Russel Winick started writing poetry after ending a long legal career. He resides in Naperville, Illinois.
It’s not every day that we read a poem composed in anapaests, as ‘Worries’ is. I remember reading way back an excellent book called ‘The Musical Basis of Verse’, which claimed that the old English poets, including the great Elizabethans, had been unaware of the anapaest, which didn’t come into its own in English until the 19th century. There are some few exceptions, such as the following line from Shakespeare’s ‘It was a lover and a lass’: “With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino”.
Daniel — Thanks for your observation. I hope you enjoyed the poem.
Your wisdom is always so concisely and memorably expressed!
Thank you Cynthia. It’s concise because there really isn’t much of it!
This comment shows that you have a fabulous sense of humor! Laughing out loud!
The Pride of Naperville never pulls his punches
And barbecues pathetic fools for his lunches.
Fine compliments, you, Sir, have got,
But Naperville’s pride I am not.
‘Worries’ indeed rings true. On the last line, we had an advert for a bleach toilet cleaning fluid called Domestos which apparently killed 99% of all known germs, to which the comedian Dave Allen famously pointed out it was the 1% he was worried about.
As for Gen Z and victimhood, my kids are living in a world where entry level jobs are disappearing due to AI, where human relationships are being replaced by phone-scrolling addiction, where they feel betrayed by a dismissive older generation that has filled the world with conflict and polarising hatred, where mental illness is rampant, where there’s an arrogant disregard for the climate crisis (Why’s the Greenland Ice Sheet melting, I wonder?), and where fossil fuel exploitation promoted by rich, old guys is kicking the problem of global warming (which it’s in the ageing generation’s interest to deny) down the road to be dealt with by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren they purport to love. On top of which, Gen Z can’t afford a house and have to pay the burgeoning pension costs of a growing demograph of pensioners while subsidising their health costs.
Just saying.
Thanks for your take, Russel.
Thanks Paul. Perhaps I should have clarified in the second poem that it is about some young people who get easily offended and feel victimized by things rather plainly said in jest, where no insult whatsoever was intended.
Russel, as ever thank you for your sharp observations and wise insights, all served up in bite-sizes morsels of poetic delight. I particularly like “Modern Generation Gap” – I’m with you all the way. The world is a harsh place blessed with heavenly moments… plenty of them, if you choose to gaze beyond your navel.
Thank you Susan — I appreciate your feedback, as always.
Russell, more thoughtful, beautiful life lessons.
Every generation has had their hardships. We ducked under desks and feared nuclear annihilation. We drank from hoses, swam in filthy lakes and somehow managed to thrive.
Your poetry makes it clear that victimhood isn’t sainthood. Yes, we all have our wounds but it doesn’t do any good to keep picking at the scabs… OR blaming every challenge on the elderly!
You’re right Mike. I see now that I over-relied on the word “touchiness” to deliver my intended message. But nonetheless, I expected that poem to bring in some interesting responses, and you and Susan, along with Paul and others, did not disappoint. Thanks!
Russel strikes again with panache and aplomb! Thank you for sharing your perceptive poetry.
Thank you Roy. That’s probably the first time that either of those adjectives have ever been applied to me, and I’m grateful.
There are some exceptions, of course, but in my experience Gen Z students are the worst prepared and the least motivated of any generation I have taught (and I’ve been in the classroom since 1968).
They are absolutely unresponsive in class. Their only interest is in the grade. Most of them never buy the textbook, or never crack it open. They are utterly uninterested in anything that is not in their immediate purview on social media sites, and they are surprised if you even mention anything that happened earlier that a fortnight ago. Trying to teach them a literary work, or the rudiments of a historical timeline, is (as William F. Buckley once put it) like trying to read the 39 articles of Anglicanism to a gathering of Hottentots.
That’s sad. I have a friend who has held various positions at my old high school for nearly four decades. At lunch recently, when I asked him about the biggest difference between students now and back in our day, he replied “instant gratification.” I’m guessing that’s related to what you’re describing, Professor. Coincidentally, I’ve already spoken to my friend about interviewing him on this subject, as I sense that it has “poem” written all over it.
As you point out with a kind smile, Russel, there’s not much we need to do (or can do) about our many worries. Somebody still needs to attempt educating the generation in school, but having done my part, I simply salute teachers still on duty. For all of us, you do well to suggest less feeling offended.
Thanks for your support, Margaret. And I too salute teachers like Joseph, who seemingly have about the hardest job in the world right now.
I really like the worries one. Unfortunately, I relate to it a lot. Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad that you liked the poem, Paul. Thank you for letting me know.