Pigeon Holed and Cataloged
Modern millennials demand ancient answers While slurping mountain dew Fingers encrusted in red hot Cheetos dust Trying too hard in over the top logos They feign boredom while working towards statement Snow coming down But they don’t stick out tongues “A myth they’re all different,” They utter in unison Though it’s clear it’s they who are the myth Seeking unconventionality they lack in definition Impatient, entitled, tech obsessed As if to say “Here go I,” They puff out their chests Like frigate birds Even while in constant need of reassurance “Multitasker,” they self label And “Jacks of all trades” Euphemisms for “Lacking in attentional capacity” And “No commitment to task or type” Work ethic all but absent Unloyal Lacking in clear direction They communicate in sound bites And are as fickle as the wind No such thing as a set course They go where desire beckons Stereotype much?
This poem came about after listening to a 15 tirade that I couldn’t avoid hearing as the person doing the speaking (or shouting) was one floor below me, visiting my neighbor. He was going off on members of Generation X which I happen to belong to saying things like we have a herd mentality, are wishy-washy, overly invested in work, excessively traditional, and technological dummies (okay, so I have to own the last one though won’t speak for the rest of my generation).
Along with the fact they were referring to me and my generation, this also reflected one of my pet peeves, mainly when people assume that every member of a group can be defined exactly the same way. Stereotypes develop as a shortcut or heuristic to help us retain large amounts of information by categorizing it. However, when they are used to minimize members of a population into caricatures based on labels given by those outside the group, that’s when we start to see stereotyping lead to discrimination.
This poem was the result of these musings and I’ll admit, gave me a few moments of satisfaction since I knew the person who had been ranting on the floor below belonged to the millennial generation. (For those of you in this generation, no real offense is intended, with the intent of the poem coming in the final line).
Natalie Frank (Taye Carrol) has had her poetry featured in several anthologies including Untimely Frost. Her fiction has been published in Haunted Waters Press, Weirdbook Magazine, Siren’s Call Publications, Lycan Valley Press and Zero Fiction among others.
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You can also find links to all of the articles, stories, fiction and poetry I publish on Medium here. Thanks for reading.
