Crisis averted

I watch my peers unsteadily
trampling middle age
sitting on various benchmarks
when they need to or
when they just want to watch

older, we are, most certainly
wiser is a tougher read
for those denying the
need for glasses or just
out of myopic stubbornness

when, what, why, how, where
the cryptic mysteries of
befuddled youth given way
to smug satisfaction dispensing
collected answers as flippant
Confucius-wannabes

I observe my peers gleefully
trampling middle age
cheering various barometers,
just because, with a gusto once
reserved for campus protests
thumbing their collective noses

things are much clearer
viewed in digital 20/20 hindsight
with the impish assurance
that they know a bunch of stuff
the rest of you do not