the Zeitgeist isn’t happy,
in fact it’s downright
pissed off,
and would like to bring a few matters
to our attention.

to start with,
what’s the use of a name
that nobody can pronounce;
it’s as bad as being called 
Archibald
at school
you feel a fool
certain they’re all
laughing at you behind your back:
it would be like to be called
Lifestyle,
that’s tasteful, and smooth,
and even those announcers
who can barely pronounce their own names,
could cope with that:

and then,
it’s tired of being victimized,
complained about and blamed,
and held responsible
for gloomy news.
it didn’t choose its date of birth,
it didn’t ask to be born
and had a very unhappy childhood—
you just have to watch the History channel—
it’s a product of its environment
like anyone else, and everyone 
keeps picking on it

that’s why it sulks loudly
on late night talk shows
and makes embarrassing scenes
on PBS.
all it gets is a collage
of sharp-tongued prophets talking nonsense,
using words like decadence,
nasty digs from well-paid pundits,
profound concern 
freely expressed
by padded egos making millions 
from being wrong on camera, 
vague jeremiads in the press,
recriminations offered by
experts at recrimination
chorusing I told you so

Lifestyle’s feeling confused
and ill used,
and finally, whose fault is it
we’re decadent
and fin-de siècle?

--and there’s another word that’s got to go.