THE CITY OF BURDEN
AND OF THE BURDENED
PICK UP THE PIECES AND GO HOME.
Your father built a business
He inherited from his father
Whose father’s father died in patriotic service
For the great continuum of posterity
And every brick of every building
In the city of Burden
Stands a testament to their having been here
If abandoned
It would be as if they never existed
You would break the sacred chain
“My accomplishments are worth nothing
Without someone to give them to.”
A child?
You could have
You should have
You have betrayed the furtive promise
You have time
Don’t you?
But isn’t life more comfortable without a child?
Must the line continue?
Why bring a child into a world of suffering and despair
For what?
An idea?
Your narcissism?
You steel your resolve
To rebuild your enterprises
With renewed vitality and vigor
Though you can’t rightly say when
As you watch the sunset over the empty harbor
Life will go on