Last Earth First

It’s not that all the young idealists
Transform into old conservatives.
No matter how much change you wanted,

If you manage to live long enough
Your world will accumulate drifts of
Unexpected, unasked-for changes.

The day will come when you find yourself
The revolutionary agent
Of an ideal that never arrived,

As well as the truculent old grunt
Resisting the actual changes
You find wrecking the tidy garden

You tend to try to console yourself
For your failure to renew the world.