Obsolescence

Message on a numberless birthday

January 13, 2025

by iris keltz

strive to make yourself obsolete

your revolutionary ideas, commonplace

your vision for the world, ordinary

stretch arms and legs beyond

fringy circles of the well-informed

leave your echo chamber

unlock the Orwellian web

reined by confusion

where truth is mythology

and mythology is truth

‘we’re all one tribe”

a cliche of the heart

embodies a bold truth—

we are one tribe.

stand on street corners

like Johnny Appleseed with a 

revolutionary message

stand in the public square

amongst those who

hold profit as the golden calf

who believe rockets to planet B

will save us

catch the eye of every passerby

offer your narrative with generosity

tell them: Russian roulette

will not be tolerated

while our planet burns.

borders are imaginary

scarcity is a choice

enemies reveal untold stories

no exceptions to never again

bore deep inside a million skulls 

ideas spread like dandelion spores

someday I will smile 

at my obsolescence

when the only thing left to do

is be with my children.