Our Generation - by Well-Versed

To mark the #InternationalDayOfTheOlderPerson and #NationalPoetryDay 2020 our Well-Versed company of older people and #AssociateArtists Francesca Beard and Tony Nwachukwu have created and recorded Our Generation - a poem inspired by ‘Lost Generation’ by Jonathan Reed. With special illustrations by group member - Ann Barefoot - the poem reads forwards and backwards - reversing its meaning and challenging expectations. Listen and read it here:

Illustrations by Ann Barefoot

OUR GENERATION…

We are old and useless
And we refuse to act like
We can still contribute to society.
We realise this may blow your mind but
‘With age comes wisdom’
Is a load of old codswallop, in truth
Getting older means life’s over
So, we will tell our grandchildren
The world is going to hell.
We do not concede that
Most people are good people.
We believe
The youth of today are selfish hooligans,
You will never convince us
To try ackee, take up impro, go dancing.
We’re excited
By nothing, 
Intimidated
Keeping up with new technologies,
We are the kind of people who spend their time
Chatting to a cashier like an old friend.
It makes us happy
To live in the past.
We don’t want
To understand the challenges facing future generations,
We listen to the news on the radio every day
Because it confirms our worst fears.
We should all give up on the planet and each other
We reject the notion 
Life is a blessing.

 Let’s change this perspective.
This is backwards.
Please look again

OUR GENERATION…

Life is a blessing.
We reject the notion 
We should all give up on the planet and each other
Because it confirms our worst fears
We listen to the news on the radio every day
To understand the challenges facing future generations,
We don’t want
To live in the past.
It makes us happy
Chatting to a cashier like an old friend.
We are the kind of people who spend their time
Keeping up with new technologies,
Intimidated
By nothing, 
We’re excited
To try ackee, take up impro, go dancing.
You will never convince us
The youth of today are selfish hooligans,
We believe
Most people are good people.
We do not concede that
The world is going to hell.
So, we will tell our grandchildren
Getting older means life’s over
Is a load of old codswallop, in truth
‘With age comes wisdom’
We realise this may blow your mind but
We can still contribute to society.
And we refuse to act like
We are old and useless

Created by Well-Versed - a Company of Older People:
Eula, Daphne, Anthony, Prem, Colleen, Pauline, Maria, John, June, Stephen, Rachel, Dina and Roger with #AssociateArtists Francesca Beard and Tony Nwachukwu.