photo by: Maryl When I read the poem the images inside of my head were of children running barefooted in the grass playing with toys. It was getting dark outside and there were lightning bugs that the kids chased but the children still ran around playing, laughing, and shrieking with joy. Everything seemed so relaxed and peaceful. I can relate to this poem because I have smaller siblings that go outside to play with their friends almost every day of the week. Toys are found in
my yard and bikes on the porch. When I watch them it is like their lives are filled with adventure, curiosity, imagination and happiness, something I wish I could still do on a daily basis.
In the poem the poet describes how “to be a child again one would need to shed details.” This means that adults would have to leave their worries, stress, work and other things behind so that they can live like a child, carefree. Since I am constantly busy I do not have much time to go outside and be in the fresh air. I quit playing with dolls a long time ago because I was getting “too old” for them according to society. It was time to wear make-up and worry about my hair, clothes and looks. When I started middle school everything felt so different because it felt that all of my friends from elementary school were no longer the same. Everyone was “grown up.” Now that I entered high school all I worry about is homework, getting the assignments done and turning them in on time.
It makes me happy to hear other people having a fun time and not worrying about anything besides the moment they are living. This reminds me of all of the things I used to do when I was a kid which was climbing trees, playing tag and hide-and-seek, and many other types of games. Now that I look back I wish that I could relive everything that I ever did in my childhood because those were some of the most fun times in my life.
I definitely understand what you mean by 'growing up', Karmenia. When I read this poem I actually thought about things similar to your memories: I thought about times at the fair with my family, the times I celebrated Fourth of July and New Years with the other little neighborhood children at barbeques; these were the times where everything was carefree and wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI can't say that I want to relive everything though. If I went back without the knowledge I had now there would still be hard lessons I would have to relearn, or maybe those fights with best friends in elementary and middle school. Going back with the knowledge I have now would be useless because it would also be pointless since the one thing we love about childhood would be gone: innocence.
When I read this poem, it helped me reflect back on the times innocence, times that have been long gone these days. Could these children represent the still playful children within ourselves, representative of the innocence we are longing to grasp hold of again?