Not so much an overwhelming disparity,
as a kind of generational grey zone that
proves challenging to bridge,
youths messages
and subcurrents like
double Dutch gibberish,
half-hidden, or half-lit
with emojis and
cool-speak broadcast
on secret wavelengths that
seem more at times like echoes
than sentences, shared in a way an
older generation can’t quite apprehend…
.
The younger generations
my grandchildren
theirs too
speak in tweets,
flashes, and sudden bursts
that leap effortlessly into places
I never knew existed where language
is a living foldable thing that can
turn lingo into Origami birds…
.
Youthful exuberance
riding the edge of a wave, in a
another reality known only to them,
and me walking the old roads of my knowing
with words and views smelling of weathered cedar...
.
Cautiously at first, we wade
into each other’s waters, hoping
to ‘feel out’ each other’s currents…
Knowing that while I’ve always built my
world steadfastly in Truth, structure, and logic,
they’ve built theirs inside
another lexicon of
cool-speak like:
‘Ratioed’
‘Rizz’
‘Cronk’
‘Sksksk’
‘Algospeak’
‘Lowkey’ and ‘Highkey’
‘Nocap’ ‘Glowup’ and ‘Yeet’
and all with values that don’t lessen
a youthful search for meaning…
.
So I listen
as they speak
with eager resolve,
each word a fish flashing silver, cool
language like rivers, quicksilver and restless,
full of promise, but mostly gone before I can follow,
ever hoping to chart a map of shared experiences
before the ink blurs in their shifting energies…
.
And I watch and marvel at
the edge of youths bright horizons,
budding libraries with very few books,
and all of them searching for their voices
or where they fit in, young hearts beating
with a restless glow, seeking the
path only they can know
where every day’s a
a chance to learn
and every wound a lesson earned….
.
Thankfully… they’re times in the
stillness between our efforts when a faint
light flickers, and for a moment there is recognition
as the heart learns to beat with a generation not its own….
.
© Richard Lloyd Cederberg
7/2026
.
Ratioed: When a post gets more negative replies than likes.
Rizz: Charisma or flirting skills. Short for charisma.
Cronk: Something weird or off, derived from TikTok trends.
Sksksk: An expression of excitement or laughter, often used ironically.
Algospeak: Code words to avoid social media censorship.
Lowkey: Secretly or subtly.
Highkey: Openly or obviously.
Nocap: Honestly, no lie.
Glow-up: A positive transformation, often physical or personal.
Yeet: To throw something with force or express excitement.
                A NEW RACE OF HuMANS