As the old saying goes, “Children say the darndest things.” In broad strokes, it’s a quote commenting on how our youthful innocence can lead us to saying things that are bracingly honest or insightful. Although it’s usually used to refer to children who are very young and have no filter whatsoever, kids of all ages remain more adaptable and open-minded than your average, middle-aged adult. Ideally, the goal of creative work in school is to help young people guide these impulses into self-expression that can be shared with others.
And that’s exactly what happened in a poem written by an 8th grader.
The poem was written by 14-year-old Jordan Nicholas and has since gone viral.
The poem reads as follows:
“Our generation will be known for nothing.
Never will anybody say,
We were the peak of mankind,
That is wrong, the truth is
Our generation was a failure.
Thinking that
We actually succeeded
Is a waste. And we know
Living only for money and power
Is the way to go.
Being loving, respectful, and kind
Is a dumb thing to do.
Forgetting about that time,
Will not be easy, but we will try.
Changing our world for the better
Is something we never did.
Giving up
Was how we handled our problems.
Working hard
Was a joke.
We knew that
People thought we couldn’t come back
That might be true,
Unless we turn things around.”
Pretty bleak, right? Still, the poem takes on an entirely new meaning when read in the reverse:
“Unless we turn things around
That might be true,
People thought we couldn’t come back
We knew that
Was a joke.
Working hard
Was how we handled our problems.
Giving up
Is something we never did.
Changing our world for the better
Will not be easy, but we will try.
Forgetting about that time,
Is a dumb thing to do.
Being loving, respectful, and kind
Is the way to go.
Living only for money and power
Is a waste. And we know
We actually succeeded
Thinking that
Our generation was a failure.
That is wrong, the truth is
We were the peak of mankind.
Never will anybody say,
Our generation will be known for nothing.”
Needless to say, the powerful message is taking the internet by storm.
Though the poem was originally posted to Twitter on a since-deleted account, the poem also seems to be inspired by a similar palindromic poem called Lost Generation by Jonathan Reed. Still, Jordan successfully took Reed’s same approach and made it all his own.
Thanks for the thoughtful words, Jordan!
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