The Last Possible Generation
What does the generation after the last possible generation do?
How do they justify themselves, being impossible?
First the beat generation was the last possible generation.
Because of the bomb, it would fall and that was that.
Then the hip generation was the last possible generation.
Because of the ecology, it would collapse and that was that.
Then the punk generation was the last possible generation.
Because of meaning, reality would crumble and cognition fail.
What of the existence of the millenial generation?
Since the bomb has fallen, the ecology has crumbled,
Abstraction has shattered,
existence centers on turbulent fractal swirls of chaos, now here's a fact.
Existence precedes essence, rough hew that how ye may,
stick it in your pipe, and smoke it.
The greenhouse millenium is suffocating.
Air is the roof, too thick in the IR, too thin in the UV.
You work with what you got, but the weather's sweaty
and the water's rising and it's getting worse.
The infant can feel you're scared
because you work and sweat, but you don't know if it's too late.
That depends on the ionic weather miles down in the abyss.
If the deep carbonates start to go, that's the whole ball of wax.
You can throw in the old towel for life on this planet.
Nice while it lasted, though.
A species big as ours can't industrialize without responsibility.
All right, give us another run at it.
This time was just for practice, we'll be more careful.
Sorry, one time counts.
You get it right or you got it wrong.
Too smoky, too much carbon up there.
Ever hear of thermodynamic irreversibility?
You can't put the genie back in the bottle.
Once the chalk at the bottom of the sea starts to erode,
it's all going to go and it won't take long.
There's fifteen atmospheres of carbon down there.
Try putting a cork in that.
See, a geophysical process on that scale makes its own weather.
Once you let it get started, you've already lost control.
This explanation is all the compensation you'll get
for having your toys taken away.
You were too dangerous with them.
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