One Deep Breath-Snips and Snails
boys play games of war
never anticipating
its grim reality
With apologies for the somber tone of this haiku, I've always been bothered watching little boys "playing war," although most of them seem to gravitate toward fighting games no matter how much we try to steer them away. It makes me wonder about the seemingly inherent tendency toward violence among men, one that leads even boys to "play" at killing and destruction.
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Labels: One Deep Breath
posted by Becca at Tuesday, October 02, 2007
11 Comments:
excellent take... made me wonder how much talk goes on about boyhood games of war played in earnest... while crouched on the front lines......
boys do like to blow things up, and i think it's inherent and can't be untaught without taking the man out of the boy. then again, i could be full of shit. lol. nice haiku.
It's definitely a point of view that shouldn't be shied away from because of the reality of it.
It hurts my heart when I see young boys (and some girls) playing at war. Particularly the graphic video games.
It hurts my heart when I think of all the young men and women who are inside a very real war with no end in sight.
I don't know that boys have an inherent need to be aggressive - but if so - there are so many healthy ways to use aggressive energy - but not much air time is given to alternatives. It feels like our society trains our children to be soldiers before they can even understand what a war really is.
Sorry for going on - your words just ring so true.
beautiful haiku! And I agree--even the boys I know who are raised by lesbian couples (ie no males around constantly who play fight with them, teach them sports, etc) love swords, fighting, etc.
BTW, I just tried to add you to my book list friends. If you don't get the invite, look me up: christine in jamaica plain, ma
Wow, a very powerful and evocative haiku. Yes, I wonder about it, too. Is it taught or innate? Thanks for sharing.
Isn't this the truth? One of my grandsons is a hunter, like the other
"guys" in his dad's family. I have a hard time not commenting. The other could care less.
Love your post today, Becca (as always!)
I agree with you on the violence thing. It's a shame...
Also, you've been tagged for the Random 8 Meme!
See my blog for more details ;-)
http://writingthecyberhighway.blogspot.
com/2007/10/8-things-that-make-me-me.html
Very rich in thought-provoking ideas. No need to apologize - the piece speaks true. I tend to lean towards the notion that we all have those violent tendencies - being human - it goes with the territory. Once we recognize this inside ourselves then we can deal the aggression in other ways. Alas, our society seem to cultivate the culture of violence.
It feels like our society trains our children to be soldiers before they can even understand what a war really is
A very profound point.
But boys will fight and play swords, etc, even if not given the tools of the trade. And though they will fight with each other in a rough and tumble way, neither of my boys has ever been involved in a fight with another boy.........
I think it's innate, and not to be judged, because of its very innateness.....it just is, but that doesn't make it any less sad.
Great haiku, by the way, look at the responses it spawned LOL.
wow, Becca, truly poignant!
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