W.H. Auden: Old People's Home (from Epistle for a Godson, 1972)

I do not like this poem at all. Or the image.

Posted by ahem at May 15, 2013 12:13 PM

Not everything can be a home run to everybody. That's why they call it a batting average.

Posted by vanderleun at May 15, 2013 2:38 PM

Not to put too fine a point on it, but they deserve everything they're getting. They sold their children and every other generation to follow to the government for their own ease in retirement. They replaced their families with a government chit. My grandparents paid almost nothing into Social Security and reaped what they considered a fortune, with nary a thought to where the money came from.

Posted by JustDeserts at May 15, 2013 6:24 PM

I agree with JustDeserts. The Greatest Generation has set all this in motion. They wanted rewarded.
They fight a graceful, natural death. They are afraid of heaven. We have come to value quantity of years over quality of life.
This generation of takers hasn't waited for old age.
Think of the statistic of number of 25-45 year olders who are "disabled" and the huge increase in disability recipients over just the past 5 years.

Posted by Grace at May 17, 2013 12:05 AM