Where Have All The Hippies Gone? Poem by Jim Yerman

I grew up a child of the '60's
together my life and the hippie movement dawned…
now when I look back at that time I wonder…where have all the hippies gone?

Those long haired tie-dyed idealists who walked around with our feet bare
who grew our own organic vegetables…who wore flowers in our hair.

Who sang and danced and laughed…who kidded and teased and joked
whose spirituality was enhanced by all that grass we smoked.

Who ate our share of granola…who drove an old VW van
who believed in peace and love and Woodstock…
and who would never listened to The Man.

Who were excited by the universe…who were filled with loving thoughts…
who lived for today and for each other and…did I mention all that pot?

Where have all the hippies gone? …all those innocent…free-spirited pups?
I imagine what happened…happens to every generation…we hippies all grew up.

Our long hair is now white or gone…our jokes are shared in tweets
our spirits aren't as free as they once were…and we now wear shoes upon our feet.

We still like organic vegetables…but we'll also eat at delis
and the only pot we carry now…we carry around our bellies.

Most of us drive comfortable cars instead of those old flowered vans
Oh, we still eat our share of granola…but now we throw on a little bran.

And we certainly don't dance as much…we never know when we might slip
for there is nothing more humiliating…than a hippie with a broken hip.

Never fear however!It may be a little harder to pick out
what was once our claims to fame
but despite the ravages of age…we are hippies just the same.

Sure life has a way of interfering and our priorities rearrange…
but I believe the spirit we brought to our generation
and our ideals have never changed.

So here's a toast to all the hippies out there…we may be heading over the hill
but we still believe in peace and love and I'm guessing…
we always will!