Dear Future Generations

Dear Future Generations

Luis Campos

Dear Future Generations

Sorry for the mess

& what we did

to Earth

trouble was,

not too many people

gave you much thought,

you were so...

future,

you know,

years away...

you don't understand,

it's hard to be caring

about what's not here

to most people

you're just a six-letter word.

that great philosopher,

Joni Mitchell,

once said

-they paved paradise

& put up a parking lot.

who needs all those trees, anyway -

believe me

you've seen one redwood

you've seen them all ---

and don't fall for the one

that clean water

is better

than the polluted kind.

well, good luck

Future G.

like I said,

sorry about that,

didn't mean to ignore you,

it's just...

well, you know,

progress.

copyright 2003 Luis Campos

Multiple Choice

Tone is the author's attitude toward the subject of a poem. What is the tone of "Dear Future Generations"?

• Persuasive

• Concerned

• Enthusiastic

Multiple Choice

What does the poet mean when he says, "You don't understand, it's hard to be caring about what's not here/to most people you're just a six-letter word"?

• He thinks people don't know how to spell the word "future."

• He thinks people tend to not think about what could happen in the future because it doesn't affect them now.

• He thinks people don't care about future generations.

Multiple Choice

Joni Mitchell, a singer/songwriter from the 1970s, wrote "they paved paradise & put up a parking lot." The poet calls her a great philosopher because...

• he thinks she studied philosophy in school before she became a songwriter.

• he thinks she writes great songs about how the environment needs more parking lots.

• he thinks that her song line represents how we are destroying the environment to build non-important things like parking lots.

Multiple Choice

"...who needs all those trees, anyway -/believe me/you've seen one redwood you've seen them all ---/and don't fall for the one/that clean water/is better/than the polluted kind." The poet's attitude in these lines shows how...

• funny he think it is when trees are cut down.

• his knowledge about how we polluted the environment.

• upset and angry he is that we are cutting down redwood trees and polluting the water.

Multiple Choice

What does the poet mean when he says, "sorry about that, didn't mean to ignore you, it's just...well, you know, progress."

• He saying that society values progress more than protecting the environment for future generations.

• He is saying that we shouldn't ignore people when they are making progress.

• He is saying that the future generations are ignoring progress.

Multiple Choice

This poem adds to our understanding of environmental rights as a human right because...

• it implies that we will owe future generations an apology for the environmental consequences of our inaction today.

• it infers that we must look beyond ourselves and become upstanders to save the environment.

• Both of these are true