limits?

 

our grandchildren’s grandchildren

who we are,

when we are less than our best,

denies any limits to our will,

who we are,

when we are at our best,

denies any limits to our will,

our tragedy is how often

we cannot differentiate

between the two takes on the will,

and we have to face a bill we cannot pay:

overpopulation,

over-use of fossil fuels,

over-indulgence of our appetite

for calories, for consumption,

we can choose the tribal

and not quite get how many tribes there are,

still I turn and choose to believe 

in the best of Western tradition:

that problems can be solved,

that obstacles can be overcome,

that we will not be held back by limits

to our imagination, 

to our problem-solving,

to making each moment a gift

to our grandchildren’s grandchildren.

by Henry H. Walker

January 8, ‘21