Description: my random thoughts after thinking the words "like taking candy from a baby" i dont know where i heard that phrase.. but anyway.. when i thought it through, this is what came to mind..
this has absolutely no point so comment if you'd like.
You say that this poem has no point .. although I think that thias little thing is quite profound actually , from looking at the first replies to this it seems to be that you actually hit a rather sore spot with this reflection.
The general response is a slightly hurtful denial .. that the egocentric three year old .. or even harder to deal with the 7 year old or 15 year old ... One commenter said it quite good .. 'once they reach a certain age, they will fight with nail and tooth ' ,.. I believe that was exactly your point
A child learns faster than most parents give them credit for .. and he will soon learn that when he gives something, in the hopes of getting some attention .. a sign of reciprocity ( not altruism as most people take it to be) and get nothing in return .. a disinterrested shrug , taking the candy .. maybe even not taking it .. putting it aside or shrugging the gesture off .. how silly .. I didn't want that .. .. how silly ..i'm busy .. while the child reflects .. giving gets me nothing .. I shiouldnt give things I get away. .. and then comes the situation where the child gets a big bowl of cady put infront of them .. then .. only 1 /3 or something into it .. the bowl is taken away .. the frenzy is over .. and you get reprimanded if you want more .. so now the child has learnt not only to not give away .. but to not let go .. to fight for the tidbits it gets ..
...This all sounds a bit bad and horrible ... and isn't as bad and horrible as it sounds really, as chidlren need to learn what an ego is .. need to learn what self is .. how one sits in regards to others and to grow into an independent individual .. etc etc ..
anyways .. I thought this was quite a nice little thing .. but .. the reason I went in here was because I really despise untitled poems. To me a poem without a title is like making a body without a head .. or making a house without a roof .. I guess I am a bit weird like that .. I put great emphasis on the title .. and I think the title should represent what the poem is expressing or have some associated image or analogy that relates to the message in the poem .. or potentially something that adds another element to the poem .. sometimes what you title a small poem like this can be what makes a nice little piece of writing into an excellent nugget of thought .. .. if you make the first line or some other prominent line from your poem the title however .. you might as well have left it untitled .. thinks me at least .. .
anyways .. be good .. and thanks for your comment on my page
Gee, I guess my children were a little slower on the uptake than the other commenter's kids. I've found taking candy was always very easy from my babies and in fact as boys (now 5 and 10) they shower me with a piece of every snack they have.
I think you've made a great point here in a great form. It's true that we're all born with a desire to share. It's only after the sharing goes unrewarded that the desire to hang on to what you've got becomes paramount.
Once comment from my English Teacher: "theiving" should be thieving. "i before e except after c or the sound of an A" (or in Budweiser).
HA! I am not sure what kind of children you have in your life, but I have never known taking candy from a baby to be an easy one. Once they reach a certain age, they will fight tooth and nail not to give you their candy. And if they are so young that they do, then they probably shouldnt have it in the first place. I think your final stanza here is the strongest of this write. I would rewrite this poem and use the last stanza as the basis for your poem. Take care.
I believe taking candy from a baby can be a difficult thing to do. All depends on the age of the baby, of course if they are very young infants, what in the world is that baby doing with candy? Ususally by the age a child is introduced to the taste of candy, they are also old enough to hold onto very tightly what they believe to be theirs, yours, or mine. You might finally be able to be nimble enough to take that candy, but do you keep it? No, they scream out in such a way that you give it back just to quiet them down. This was an outstanding viewpoint on taking candy from a baby, but, perhaps you might want to think about it a little more, and realize that it is easier said then done. God bless,] Yvonne
I see you have not actually tried this in real life. I do not hope I break down some illusion now, but taking candy from a child, is far from an easy task, as it otherwise is known to be. That aside, the innocense of the description is 'cute', and it could lead to other thourghts. I was myself meditating over man beeing created, and having a 'good' nature in opposition to also knowing/having an 'evil' nature. If Good and Evil is a cultural thing, you cannot say, as you do, that the child is innocent, as it is niether innocent nor not innocent - it simply is untill the concept is exprerienced by them.
Also a good point in your reflections, is that the child must be loved to be good - thereby saying that a loving culture constructs a good nature.
My question now: Does the child have a nature before it is born, or are all nature constructed be the culture?
Submission Name: Reciprocity
