For Iris, Rio, Sara, Gorio, Wylder, Mesa, Skyler, Benny, George & all our offspring

Iron on ironic to this worn Freebox hoodie
as we start the New Year of my ‘80s

not unlike the ‘60s in its stormy forebodings
back when we danced around in flowers & tie-dye

while pols & preachers were being assassinated
Jackson State students & Kent State kids

“Got my bile up,” barked McRedeye
as we bombed Cambodia, Hanoi

Gen. Waste-more-land & fucking My Lai
Building nuclear power plants

Promoting cocaine & nicotine while
demonizing cannabis & entheogens

A pressure cooker about to blow
that didn’t. That cooled down

Maybe it will get so bad
it’ll get good again

Anti-Vietnam War protesters. Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons