BIRTH LEGACIES: Reflections on the web of history When mum was born the dimensions of our galaxy were unknown & quantum mechanics was shrouded in mystery Freud was attempting to model the psyche while trench warfare redefined atrocity As Bolsheviks toppled imperial Russia America beefed up its military When her mum was born the interior of the atom was unknown & radioactivity was a fresh discovery In my grandmother's birth year our planet's age had finally been dated but air flight was only a dream Brahms was writing a beautiful clarinet quintet while Buffalo Bill's Wild West Tour was the rage As Sioux indians were slaughtered by whites countless mums whispered to their babes "Hush now – everything is gon'na be all right" Linda: The fact that we enter this world without any knowledge of it is a blessing. Lex: How so? Linda: Too much knowledge promotes stagnation. I feel there's a freshness in the innocence of youth. Lis: (chuckling) Really? Nothing about youth is innocent. Young people have the same desires as adults, just fewer resources to enact them. Linda: I hear you, but we disagree. We enter this world for a reason and are part of an unfolding story. Each person should study the record of their birth year and reflect on how humanity needs to change. ===================================================================================== from _Last Poems: Lost Poems_ by T Newfields SUMMARY: An image of evolving text, poem about the events of 1917 and 1891, and conversation about ignorance and innocence. KEYWORDS: world history, time markers, 1917 events, 1891 events Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955 - ) Begun: 1991 in 1994 Shizuoka, Japan ✠ Finished: 2016 in New Taipei, Taiwan Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} < LAST https://www.tnewfields.info/LastPoems/crumbling.htm TOC https://www.tnewfields.info/LastPoems/index.html NEXT > https://www.tnewfields.info/LastPoems/fer.htm TRANSLATIONS DEUTSCH: https://www.tnewfields.info/de/1917-geburt.htm ESPAÑOL: https://www.tnewfields.info/es/legados.htm FRANÇAIS: https://www.tnewfields.info/fr/1917.htm NIHONGO: https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/1917-nen.htm ZHŌNGWÉN: https://www.tnewfields.info/zh/chusheng.htm