The Crash, October 29,1929 Poem by Laurence Overmire

Brought an end
To the good life
Of the Roaring 20's

For some
Who made money the measure of their
Worth
The loss was unbearable
Life had lost all purpose and
Meaning
They could not and did not
Survive

Others were left destitute
But alive
Hungry and homeless
Their entire life savings
Completely
Wiped out
Forced to rely on the kindnesses
Of strangers

Everyone, even those who were relatively
Unscathed
Had to re-evaluate
What truly
Mattered in the making of their
Lives
It was, for the discerning
An opportunity
To re-think and re-invent
Themselves
In a way that was much more
Stable
Than a disappearing

Dollar bill

Our parents and grandparents
Remembered
Those hard times
They understood the difference
Between need and
Desire
They lived with a frugality
Their children could hardly
Comprehend
In an age of television and
Laptops and not so smart
Phones
That disconnected them
From one another

That's why we look back
To those who have preceded us
To recover those lost pieces
Of ourselves
The wisdom once
Gleaned
Through trial and
Tribulation
That we, in our rush
To be modern
So full of ourselves
Have inadvertently

Forgotten.

~ Laurence Overmire