Song of a Future Age
Children of the present age,
Reading this indignant page,
Know that in a former time,
Longer life was thought a crime.
“Elders needing doctors’ care
Cost us more than we can spare.
Elders who retain their health
Rob the young of jobs and wealth.
Fourscore years are all you need.
Seeking more reveals your greed.
Live your numbered years with zest.
Then go sweetly to your rest.”
So the pundits used to say
Till we reached a better day.
Children, how our lifespans grew:
I’m 300—you’ll be too.
“Song of a Future Age” first appeared in Blake House.
On the Snow
We’re all supposed to love the Earth
And thrill to nature’s bold displays.
We’re all supposed to be entranced
When nature sends us snowy days.
But I just tumbled on the snow
And gave my knee a nasty whack.
If I’m supposed to love the Earth,
The Earth should try to love me back.
“On the Snow” first appeared in The Providence Journal.
Felicia Nimue Ackerman is a professor of philosophy at Brown University and has had over 230 poems published in a wide range of places, including twelve in past issues of Sparks of Calliope.
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