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# Two Fifty
- URL: https://dianaludwick.com/two-fifty/
- Published: 2026-07-01T13:06:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-07-01T13:06:00.000Z
- Description: “Two Fifty,” an observation of lineage and change writ over more than two hundred fifty years of this place, with its fragile democracy and strong women. Written Wednesday, July 1, poem 182 in a series of 365 poems written by Diana Ludwick in 2026. "Good will Prevail," photo of art made from 9/12/20
- Author: Diana Ludwick
- Tags: 2026 Poetry Challenge, Generational, Homage, Lineage, Of Place, Poems, Algae, American Revolution, Bicentennial, Country, District of Columbia, Happy Birthday, Iran, July, Lexington and Concord, Mad kings, Neighbors, Patriots, Round of Sixteen, Summer, Two Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary, World Cup, #Migrated-1792872215677, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-10-24 20:03

Growing up   
I remember my Mom   
waxing narrative   
about the bicentennial  
How special it was  
To be a teenager   
living in Lexington  
Celebrating ancestors   
on the same green  
The pride, the heritage,   
the joy, the thrill  
  
Here I am  
Grown a stone’s throw   
from the District   
And we’re swiftly approaching   
This country’s   
two hundred-fiftieth birthday  
  
And we’re in the round of sixteen   
in the World Cup   
where so many immigrants   
have made the planet proud.  
  
And we’re at war with Iran  
who we bomb and dismiss  
while we host them   
on our soccer pitches.  
  
And our leader   
is throwing neighbors   
in jail   
over touching grass.  
(Okay, algae).  
  
And it’s one hundred   
and seven   
degrees   
after five o' clock   
in the evening  
  
And America’s fair   
is only for  
partisan patriots  
  
But my elders were there,  
were they not?  
  
On the green  
at Lexington   
  
In the woods  
on horseback  
  
Itching to change  
to buck off mad kings  
to create something new.  
  
And maybe  
two hundred fifty years  
is long enough   
in this direction  
  
Perhaps today’s Mothers   
and Daughters  
have visions  
for an even better way.  
  
What’s next, fam?