In the spring of 2008 I conducted a poetry workshop with Class 5S at Lawrence Elementary School in Brookline, MA. This poem is the result of our collaboration.

Generations
by Class 5S and Tom Rubenoff

When cars are stacked like crushed boxes
Their bones rusting into the earth
And trains stand like the backbones of dinosaurs
Silent in their yards
And jets squat earthbound and motionless
On runways cracked by grass
And you run like dogs amid the ruins
For your daily bread
Remember that we said,
“It was all for you” 

Polar ice was quickly melting
But we stopped using oil
Trash paved the abandoned streets
But we started recycling
Life was ending at fighter jet speed
But we preserved the forests
Inspired by your legacy
We look proudly at our progress
Now we say,
It was all because of you