Now and then sonnet

by Andrei Codrescu

There was a time when there was too much
and it was OK.  We called it soma.
Now there is a time when there is too little
and it’s not OK.  We call it Yoda.
Nostalgia isn’t my forte.  It’s your catch.
I’ve made myself impervious to the stem.
There are places that are inspiring for a while.
This is a good reason to keep them from spies.
There was a time when you were I and we were them.
That was in 1967.  We were lousy with snitches.
People would like to know if the field of pronouns
just grew there or was cultivated snitch by snitch.
Now is the time to ask that niche question.
It is 2020 when everything is sprouting niches.