Fear
From the beginning, they learned not to feel any.
They´re usually good people, praised by neighbors,
Quick to shovel snow from the walkways.
They´re reliably cheerful, even with telemarketers,
And their houses are clean from Monday to Sunday.
But it´s hard to picture them at night, unable to rest,
Sick from the latest on Iraq and Afghanistan.
Name a current war, and they imagine terrorists
And despots, not toddlers who can´t understand
That they mustn´t cry because everything depends on it.
Ambiguity is all they can´t tolerate.
Stories without resolution, abstract portraiture—
Why stir things up for the hell of it?
They´re willing to discuss the new counterculture,
Even read a book you suggest, but as they see it,
The past is over. If they were unloved by their mothers
Or shouted into submission at every stage
Of development, they´re fully recovered.
If others keep having kids they can´t raise
And quitting jobs, it´s from lack of resolve, or bad culture.
They´re glad to explain their position: We overcame, too.
Our parents used to be poor. One of them was violent.
We were brought up on unspoken racism and junk food
But turned out OK and not racist. Hey, we´re resilient.
We triumphed over rocky beginnings. And so can you.
