The Children Are Coming

We have to hold now
we can allow no more slippage
cede no more ground
so hold tight
get ready
the children are coming

Remember when we were young
how we climbed that hill folks
said was too steep to climb
an older generation
tired and cynical
they said it couldn’t be done
shouldn’t be done
so we took the lead
we were the children then
we pushed up that hill
maybe not so high as we had hoped
but we climbed that hill
we saved the day
for a while at least

But lately, there have been losses
too many for my liking
giving up ground
falling back down the hill
just like the folks when we were young
we’ve become tired
complacent
maybe even arrogant
it’s hard pushing uphill all the time
we thought we had won
we had done our part
and we could relax

But they were still lurking
they are always lurking it turns out
they don’t go away
they just go quiet for a while
they are always there
they always have been
slinking about
hiding in the shadows
whispering their lies
and false promises
to naive passersby
to gullible disgruntled souls
manipulating them to their bidding
drawing on fears and latent hatreds
encouraging them to work against
their own interests in the name of
patriotism and protectionism
a parasite feeding
on ancient fears and nighttime terrors

The manipulators
the greedy
the power hungry
we call them oligarchs now
a new word for our time
same old stuff
they have retaken some of our ground
little by little
guile by guile
we are in danger of losing everything
and we must begin to fight back
no matter how tired or discouraged
we can retreat no more
so prepare yourself for another assault
we must retake that high ground
push beyond even
two steps forward now
no more steps back
stand tall
adjust your pack
be ready

The children are coming

The children are coming

Marv Himmel
May 19, 2018 ©