Neil Ellman’s most recent poem to appear here was “Portrait of a Man with Cat Ears” (August 2016). He passed away in April 2018.

Burdened Children
(after the painting by Paul Klee)
By Neil Ellman

They bare the burden
of expectation—
to be better, stronger, wiser
yet much the same
as their parents were
and carry a name
whose origins
had been forgotten
for generations
upon their backs—
to fulfill the promise
of a more peaceful,
more fruitful world
but with its history
of violence and want
running through their veins—
they, our children,
playing at their games
so blissfully unawares
of the world
they are destined
to re-create.