This generation

She rides her motorized scooter

to the morning gathering place.

Lights her cigarette,

she interrupts the scuttlebutt

by clearing her throat.

When I was young,

no no-account child would run

in front of my scooter. She patted

it like a favorite steed.

The conversation turned

to the no-accountedness

of the next generation.

I listen quietly, nodding my head

at each punc…