Ann Bradley

The Boomer, v2

We’ve wrapped up the life we knew,
or so we said we’d do—
packed away the photographs,
the dreams that didn’t come true.

We raised the kids, we paid the bills,
we learned what life can cost.
We loved, we lost, we changed our minds,
and sometimes we got lost.

We survived bell bottoms,
eight-track tapes and disco nights,
cassette tapes and rotary phones,
and computers with flashing lights.

We watched the world go digital,
then wondered, What’s next?
We learned to text, to Zoom, to Google—
and somehow passed the test.

We are Boomers, Version Two:
the sequel has begun.
The wrinkles are the footnotes
to everything we’ve done.

We’re not here to disappear
or quietly fade away.
We’ve got a few more chapters
and plenty more to say.

Maybe we’ll write another book.
Maybe we’ll start a site.
Maybe we’ll fall in love again,
or dance into the night.

Maybe we’ll learn AI,
though it sometimes drives us nuts.
“Just ask the computer,” someone says—
and we say, “Where are the buttons?”

We’ve got experience nobody taught us,
stories nobody knows.
We know that life can turn around
just when the curtain closes.

So this is not retirement.
It’s revision. Reinvention.
A little less What should I do?
A little more What do I want?

The first version was survival.
The second gets to choose.
We’ve earned the right to wander,
to experiment, to lose.

No need to prove our youthfulness.
No need to turn back time.
We’re old enough to know ourselves—
and young enough to climb.

So bring on the next adventure.
Let the future have its say.
The Boomer isn’t wrapping up—

The Boomer is updating today.

And if Version Two has bugs,
well, that’s nothing new.

We’ve been rebooting ourselves
since 1946.

Boomer, v2.0:
Older.
Bolder.
Wiser.
Still curious.

And definitely not finished.

Ann Bradley