Feeling Hope with My Offspring

by Ernie McCray

I dined
at a rather nice café
the other day
where a host,
in this lovely place,
in a very friendly way,
led me
and my twin daughters
and my oldest grandson
and his wife
and their three sons,
to an outdoor table,
shaded from the sun,
where we were made to feel
comfortable, laid back,
fully relaxed,
and as I was
brought up to speed
as to what was happening

in the lives of these
precious fruit on my family tree,
listening to their excitement about
computer programming
and working at an eatery
and writing columns and essays
and their interesting take on these days,
there were moments
when my mind wandered
back to days
when a family like ours
in some towns
wouldn’t have had the privilege
of sitting and eating
in a fine restaurant,
such as where we were,
or at a greasy spoon kind of place,
as it were,
just because of the color of our skin.

Needless to say
I don’ t miss those sadly hateful days,
so glad,
such times as those
eventually faded away
like monstrous windstorms
slowly running out of steam,
and that my progeny,
none of them,
have ever had to endure
such discrimination
and never will
since generations|
before them,
like mine,
have already paid that price.

But, however, I’m keenly aware
that there are other societal wrongs
that need tending to,
so much work
still to be done,
and, as I sipped a nicely concocted
watermelon margarita
and savored a
tangy salad
and some amazingly
tasty brussels sprouts,
I sensed that my kin,
as I took in
what they had to say
about the world today,
one where progress
moves at a snail’s pace,
that they will be up to
taking on whatever
social and political challenges
their generation might face.

I rode home
feeling there’s
hope for humanity
from just having
been in their company.

Love them dearly.