by My parents kept me from children who were rough
Who threw words like stones and wore torn clothes
Their thighs showed through rags they ran in the street
And climbed cliffs and stripped by the country streams.
I feared more than tigers their muscles like iron
Their jerking hands and their knees tight on my arms
I feared the salt coarse pointing of those boys
Who copied my lisp behind me on the road.
They were lithe they sprang out behind hedges
Like dogs to bark at my world. They threw mud
While I looked the other way, pretending to smile.
I longed to forgive them but they never smiled.
This poem touches me deeply because it depicts the hardship that the speaker undergoes when he is growing up. The speaker is faced with big bullies who are harsh to him. The speaker’s parents want to protect him from the harsh reality of the world.
However, I think it is not enough for our parents to protect ourselves from big bullies. We should stand together to fight against and turn away big bullies. We need to fight back for ourselves when things become very worse.
On the other hand, we should also promote a kind of culture that respects and endures each other instead of flinging stones at each other. Only a respectful culture can finally save us from the coldness and harshness of the real world.
English language & literature 
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