I'm a little boy...
eight years old.
I can't hear, and my voice is slurred,
because I can't tell what I'm saying.
I have a sister and a brother and a family,
and I can think and wonder,
even though I'm only eight.
I've seen the man who stands on the street corner,
asking me for change;
There's nothing in his jacket but a soul.
I've seen the pregnant woman next door,
shouting at her husband who is drunk,
and dodging his fists,
not brave enough to stand up for herself;
does that mean she should have no life?
I don't think so.
but I don't understand;
I'm only eight.
I've watched the television, and read the lips
of newscasters, reporters.
I've seen the pictures and read the words that flash above the headlines.
Soldiers killed and bombed debris, refugees
running from the incoming might of Democracy.
Call it religion and call it politics, call it the war
on terrorism.
I call it dead people,
but I'm only eight.
I've seen commercials with a man in a suit,
asking me if the millions dead in the holocaust was bad.
Yes, I reply.
Then he asks me if the millions of unborn babies murdered by abortion
aren't just as bad, if not worse.
Are you insane? I reply,
and what right have you to say anything?
You aren't the one who has the baby,
much less knows the circumstances.
I'd rather there be abortions than
unwanted children in the world.
Don't talk about things like that, says my teacher;
you're only eight.
I've seen somebody shot in the street
because he got in a fight with another guy.
The guy with the gun didn't like the way the other guy
was looking at him.
He probably wouldn't have liked the way I was looking at him either,
if he'd seen me.
I didn't hear the gunshot,
and it's a good thing too, because
I'm only eight,
and it might have been traumatic.
Don't ask questions.
Wait till you're old enough, people tell me,
to think about this kind of thing.
My point is this,
if nobody thinks that I should think about life,
then how am I going to figure it out
when I'm old enough?
Maybe they just don't like it
when I ask them hard questions.
Author notes
Rhodd's rant in regards to Life.
I'm frustrated. Nobody listens to little deaf kids with questions.
Comments
1 - 16 of 16
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I think this is a very perceptive piece. Children may not have all the answers but they sure have the questions and that's where it all starts. At the age of about 3 years, a child starts this question things, his first question being, "Why?" Sure it may get redundent sometimes but that's their way of questioning the world around them.
Your poem is an awesome write and I hope you keep on questioning.
Dee
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Lovin It!
This is really good. I think you have a fair point. Small children always get pushed aside, but they talk alot of sense.
Lovin it! -
Awesome job! I really felt the emotion behind this piece! An A+ job! Keep up the awesome work adn thanks so much for the share! I really am looking forward to reading more of your work....which I probably have already............ I read a lot of stuff on here and try to comment on everyones....Sorry for my mindless ramblings.............HAHA!!!!!
Again.....Thanks so much for the brilliant write and share! Good luck with future writes....but judging from this, you don't really need much luck!!!!!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~**~Heroesrox~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~* -
I think little kids ask the best questions. That would be because they aren't afraid to voice something. This was a true work, you're a poet!
Síochán leat
~Mairéad~
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This is SO true! As an aunt of three young kids, I can certainly attest to the fact that they do know a lot more about what is going on than what people think. They have minds and have questions and these have to be respected and answered, much like you do in this poem. It's nice to see people standing up for the little ones when they can't do as much for themselves
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Hmm, for an eight year old, you write better poems than me! I'm jealous.
And if you want me to answer that question you
wrote down. Then, here is my answer. It's most likley because adults have been treated this way when they were young, so they don't know a better way to answer. Or they're misconcepted and don't remember that far back, lol. -
I've seen the man who stands on the street corner,
asking me for change;
There's nothing in his jacket but a soul.
I've seen the pregnant woman next door,
shouting at her husband who is drunk,
and dodging his fists,
not brave enough to stand up for herself;
does that mean she should have no life?
So touching, makes me wanna cry. I love it. Great write. -
Nobody listens to little kids, period. I think it's funny, in a weird way, because kids are more innocent than us, and therefore seem more capable of making nonviolent, unbiased decisions. But we just laugh at them and say, "You're only a kid, you don't understand. You don't have a voice." Hell, I'm nearly 19 and people still don't take me seriously. Kids see things more clearly than adults do sometimes.
Anyway, enough of my rant. The poem is excellent, as you can see, otherwise it would not have provoked such a reaction from me.
Great write, keep it up
~Memoirs
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very powerful. great job!
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i like i
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I think the sentiments expressed are real but they are, surely, the voice of a teenager rather than that of an eight year old, deaf or not? The whole is an unfortunate truth of the denial by adults to accept the young into the world that (mainly) the same adults have made and cocked up. Overall a powerful piece. Thank you.
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Sharp, Intense
Rant, the voices that need to hear you will! I go through the same thing with all the adults about my 7yr old...Damn right she will know how to think when you is 2x8!!!
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Couldn't have said it better
People always say "kids these days...they're crazy, they're rowdy, they're rambunctious," etc. But how about the adults these days? I wouldn't call anyone out on teaching their kids the "wrong" values or morals, but I'd call them wrong for not teaching much of anything at all. As you pointed out, when kids bring those issues up with teachers, they just get knocked down. Stuff like this needs room for discussion somewhere.
Great write. Check out my poem http://allpoetry.com/poem/3971395 -
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Thank you for commenting.
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Sweet
This poem touched my heart. Adults have no right to ignore young deaf children. He has a point -
Sweet
This poem touched my heart. Adults have no right to ignore young deaf children. He has a point
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