Deny the forest
the monsters
a voice
deny the whispers
the knowing looks
soft swell of ground
prepared for nature's choice
deny the children
imagination
their voice
deny their wide eyes
their wishes to know.
Instead prepare the soft swell
of their souls for sacrifice
on the altar of adulthood
and the growing apart
from Gods of wonder
for other forms of worship
of numbers, statistics
don't deny them those
for by them they may begin
to recognize themselves,
grow old before their time.
Hi Ray,
It's a form of psychic violence - denying children their own dreams by imposing upon them the unfulfilled wishes/desires/dreams of their parents' own childhood yearnings. Cruel irony. I agree with elP too.
Suki
Thanks elP for your considered thoughts. I agree with you ; it is often the adults who impose themselves often without wisdom or listening to the inner child - my own experiences were with teenage step children, so I'm not directly qualified, except by intuition.
The Paul Simon song is wonderfully to the point.
Ray
elPintor
Fri 17th Mar 2017 22:05
It's sad, really--the entire poem. I mean, to impose upon a child's innocence so completely must be a kind of abuse--like cramming them into tiny little boxes and force-feeding them through tubes. Maybe the analogy is a bit of an exaggeration, but I can't help but think of how much talent gets squashed by adults who think they know so much, yet fail to see just how contrived and stupidly over-complicated they've made their own lives.
That's my rant for the evening. It's a very thoughtful and well-written piece, Ray.
elP
ps..I first read this while at work and Paul Simon came to mind..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1D3-tY9PuY
HI David. I really appreciate your getting into this and going to the heart of it. I think this is one that won't get the attention ...
Ray
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raypool
Sat 18th Mar 2017 11:40
I think you have got it in a nutshell SS . Because children are in need of acceptance and love they are malleable ; it is not until later that the shell develops and the subconscious start to play tricks. Life itself demands a trade-off just to survive. I think those monsters come back to haunt us.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Ray