I met a child
With an elder’s soul
Preaching reality
And reason
Instead of whimsy tales
I looked into the eyes
To find no sense of wonder
Replaced by a sternness
Reserved for firm adults
Who lost their childish thoughts
It was bizarre
And fascinating
To find this neutered child
With no imaginary friends
Or dreams to set it free
I watched it
Move among its peers
Alone and confused
Refusing to indulge
In their playful games
It railed against the fun
Screaming for conversion
As if it was the one true child
And the laughing mobs
Should stop acting out their age
Pity grew
As I watched it
Lost among the swings
Unsure what to do
Without a rationale
The cause came soon
When parents arrived
Stern and proper dressed
They found it drawing
With chalk upon the ground
Shouting ensued
As the chalk was crushed
Under an angry boot
Father and mother
Appalled by the sense of art
They lectured loud
Ignoring all the gasps
While they battered
And railed
Against imagination’s use
The child followed
Its spirit crushed again
Drained of all creative wants
Twisting it in thought
Into a dreamless child
Legends of Windemere 
Very powerful..and sadly true for many many children
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I agree. That’s why I’m trying to instill a strong imagination with my son. I’m still teaching him the facts of reality, but not at the cost of creativity.
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And let him guide you, quite often we can impose our views strongly without even realizing it
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I don’t really have a choice there. He never listens and I usually have to follow his lead to get anything done. 🙂
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Bwaahahhahha he’s a strong spirit just like yaself then 😉
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He takes after me and my wife who are both stubborn when we aren’t over-stressed. Thankfully, he hasn’t adopted our shared flaw of being easily cowed.
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🙂
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