Obedience In—a—Sense by Dan Ryan

Ah, my generation

America went to Viet Nam and

had a war

just for us

Ah, my generation

not the “me” generation

not the Woodstock generation

we are the Viet Nam generation

the wounded generation

the traumatized generation

the disillusioned generation who

continue to breath napalm and

piss agent orange

a generation defined by

an exercise in greed that

never needed to happen

from which nothing was learned

Ah, my generation

my fucked up, fucked over generation

spaced out on drugs

strung out on

the vulgarities and obscenities of

a violent, racist culture dependent on

a war-based economy for

the economic and political survival of

the Great Republic and

the sacred American Way of Life

Ah, my generation

We were bred and born – conscripted

really - did we have a choice?

1945 to 1954

innocents obediently raised on

the mythology of

the benefits of

a meat and dairy based diet of

white stream history

the self-serving lies testifying to

the sense of entitlement without

responsibility

guilt or

shame

the unholy holy agenda of Manifest Destiny

the requirement to equate invasion

occupation and

murder

with patriotism (whatever THAT is)

Ah, my generation   

believers who became non- believers in

anything institutional

utter contempt

disgust

mistrust from which

most of us never recovered

a generation that came of age and grew old in

an age of disbelief

solitude and

profound anxiety

Ah, my generation

Ginsberg howled for Solomon

I howl for us

__________________________

Dan Ryan will appear in AlteredScale.com 3, out in March, and he is a regular contributor to this blog.

After spending an extensive number of years attempting to save the world from itself while living in Olympia, Washington, I follwed my sweetie to Minnie's Apple Crisp in July, 2012.  Determined to approach life from a more obtuse angle, I am now a thoroughly committed Zen slacker, practicing guilt-free attachment to hanging out in coffee shops, reading all the wrong books, writing poetry, and enjoying other sensual pleasures with my partner. Dan Ryan will appear in AlteredScale.com 3, out in March.