The Millennial Moan

I saw the rise of technology

and the descent of the American dream

happen right before my very eyes,

sheltered in a sanctuary of solemn lies,

we sought to fill the rotting cavities of their “truth”

emo kids, depressed by the dreary reality we revealed to ourselves through our digital illumination,

who knew all too well the haunting sound of the dial-up internet

and what would happen if anyone was trying to use the landline,

who D.A.R.E.d to ignore the rantings and ravings of sweaty pigs claiming cannabis could kill,

and decided to find out for ourselves what else they were lying about,

who were only kids in an elementary school classroom when the twin towers fell,

unsure of why all the adults were sobbing, ignorant to the implications until later in life,

who, even after we were grown, were called crying children who just needed to work harder

(despite the fact that three part time jobs wouldn’t even cover rent for a one bedroom apartment),

who, when struggling with suicidal depression and overwhelming anxiety were told we were just too soft,

killing ourselves just to get by, shamed into silence while we gradually, eventually, so slowly die,

who saw through their delusions of grandeur as our parents avoided teaching us the cruel actualities of life

in a system of structural equalities that isn’t broken, just made fixed,

who advocated for mental health awareness and the rights of the marginalized

even though they tried to tell us it didn’t really matter and that lacking empathy was strength,

who experienced the planned obsolescence of all our technology and painfully wondered

which one of our generations would fare the same,

who saw a planet dying from climate change that was coming closer and closer to becoming permanent,

running out of time to change or save ourselves,

questioning if there’s anything we can do, or if it’s too late and we’re already doomed.

My miserable, millennial self, full of nostalgic agony

and the dreaded sense of immense responsibility

to raise the future generation,

hoping they will care and understand far more than we ever did,

far more than our parents ever even thought to try.