They once taught their children

houseflies came from meat

Everyone knew this

to be true

so it wasn’t questioned

Until it was

Francesco Redi put some gauze

over a jar of meat

and shifted the discourse

Today they believe

we are all supposed to be happy

Every movie and love song

takes this as foundation

as more than obvious

What if we aren’t

and some genius tomorrow

puts some prozac in a clown shoe

and shifts the discourse yet again

Will they be okay with crying

Will they say they saw it coming

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1 May, 2022

Christopher Clauss (he/him) is an introvert, Ravenclaw, father, poet, and middle school science teacher in rural New Hampshire.  His mother believes his poetry is "just wonderful." His daughters declare that he is the "best daddy they have," and his pre-teen science students rave that he’s "Fine, I guess. Whatever."