Dear Future Generations: Sorry

In “Dear Future Generations: Sorry,” the repeated word “Sorry” and phrase “I’m sorry” are an action on the speaker’s part that adds to the poem’s larger meaning. Because this word and phrase are repeated so often throughout the poem, they transcend a mere apology and instead comment on a larger meaning at hand. This is most apparent in the poem’s conclusion when the speaker states, “Because whatever you’re fighting for: / Racism, Poverty, Feminism, Gay Rights / Or any type of Equality / It won’t matter in the least / Because if we don’t all work together to save the environment / We will be equally extinct / Sorry” (Lines 84-90). By ending the poem with this final word, “Sorry” (Line 90), the word transcends a simple, regretful apology. No longer is the speaker speaking to “future generations” (as the title suggests). The poem, in Line 65, shifts instead to speaking to the present-day reader—the current generation. The poem no longer apologizes for what was done in the past; instead, the final word apologizes for the truth that the speaker must impart: That if nothing is changed or done to save the planet, humanity will go extinct. This burden and weight rest on the current generation.