Futures Cascading

Oh, children, what kind of world am I giving to you?
What kind of you am I giving to the world?
This world has been stained with red, and white, and blue,
Before you ever entered it, boy and girl.

Oh, children, what kind of world am I giving to you?
A world of meaningfulness and tragedy,
Where everything sad has not yet come untrue,
Where nothing’s as good or bad as it could be.

What kind of you am I giving to the world?
I want you to be, not only to behave.
You growing boy, you barely visible girl,
Be kind and gentle, honest and strong and brave.

This world has been stained with red, and white, and blue:
The blood of the countless victims of human hate;
The bleach of forgetting why we do what we do;
And oceans of tears for remembering too late.

Before you ever entered it, boy and girl,
The drama was written and the stage was set.
You will play your part and make your mark on the world,
You and the generations you will beget.