Millennial ‘Howl’
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by screens and division, reaching for devices at the first alarm, searching for that neoliberal fix of ‘wokeness’ and chastity,
who no longer smoked like chimneys on fire, rather turned inward, making self-flagellation the new opium of the people and tormented themselves in the name of self-improvement; heart-rendering 5 AM starts, burning ice showers and binges of Netflix and alcohol,
who, despite comfort, dopamine and, sedentary activities, still need frequent bouts of dive bars, strip clubs, cocaine, and water parks just to forget the pain,
who tried to ignore the sociopathic urge to ‘like’ that flickering high school flame’s by now daily post of butt cheeks, lingerie, and sun, who must remember you, surely? — we held hands in 6th grade — and she must still walk around thinking about you, constantly, relentlessly, for days on end anytime you are near your mutual hometown,
but who saw no hypocrisy in ‘liking’ half a million other ninety percent naked influencers on TikTok, and Tinder — the mind-bending dating slot machine, reducing one’s real problems like suicidal brothers, cancer-ridden fathers, and melancholic mothers, to just another means of getting one’s hole,
Who danced during ‘flexible hours’ not noticing that more time is evil and turned to volatile crypto creeps to kill it, further fanning the flames of pain and disappointment,
who grew up later — or were still growing — into their forties before the cheque was enough for their own crib, and even then an endless sea of debt awaited, while shiny, manicured CEO’s traded their own lives so others would have to look upwards and soothe their vanity,
who panicked and played the authoritarian card whenever outlandish — but minuscule when observing history at large — events like covid occurred, ‘our war’, still clutching at anything that might give meaning,
who fear the tomorrow handed down to them — splintered trees on fire, frying fish and rain, lots of it,
who sucked avocado from the annals of veganism, virtue signaling a desire to be heard, noticed, opting for speed, selection, and variety, cheap travel lodges among other ‘experiences’ to soothe that internal angst,
who cried, shook, and hid in ‘safe spaces’ from dangerous words, me-too movements, male toxicity, female triumphalism, but put forward their rights — they are always right,
who split down the middle with Rogan, ivermectin, and responsibility on one side, LGTB+, faux hard-nosed universities, and animal welfare on the other,
And are we all the better for it?
