by Warren Woessner
Are creating “tomorrow’s future”
on the covers of my collection
of 1950’s chemistry sets.
They sit on the credenza
in my office, already crowded
with papers, diplomas, books
and computer monitors.
The intent teens are peering through microscopes
or pouring bright liquids into flasks.
They look determined, even happy.
So why am I sad to see them every day?
Ah, you will understand. I was one
of them then and that was long ago
and we did go on to create the future
and we can’t go back and try again.
Warren Woessner’s poetry has been widely published and anthologized. He has been awarded fellowships in Poetry from the NEA, the McKnight Foundation and the Wisconsin Arts Board.
Hawaii Pacific Review 