Monday, July 11, 2011

Jungle Gym

Welcome to Day One of the Poetry Schmoetry Blogfest! sponsored by Writing with Shelly. We only had to write one, but I'm putting one up each day. This first one is a memorial, the jungle gym is in the back with the ladder. Thanks for reading =)

me & Peppy
Jungle Gym

Two story pole and swinging rope,
Monkey bars and teeter totter,
Faded green jungle gym was built
By a father for two daughters.

In the middle of an acre
Amongst grass and forest creature.
It strongly stood the test of time,
Simple joys in any weather.

It played a store, cave, and clubhouse,
A hiding place or home safe base.
Our young minds grew from make believe.
Imagination ruled our days.

Now where has all the dreaming gone
In this modern techie shower?
Video games and TV shows
Strip the mind of thinking power.

Return to the jungle gyms, parks,
Treehouses, sandboxes, outside.
Turn off the screens and spark the brain.
They’ll see its worth, once they’ve tried.

15 comments:

Heather M. Gardner said...

This is so well done! And very true!
HMG

Anonymous said...

I LOVE this! Who can't relate to a jungle gym? Brings me back. Love your sweet picture too. :-)

Dana said...

Very true. Nice job!

Cathy said...

Beautiful! It took me right back to our swing set and climbing tree. We had the greatest adventures in that backyard ... and my kids wonder why I want to throw the computer and video games out the window!

Pam Williams said...

Your poem reminds me of the old wooden, self-propelled "merry-go-round" at our town hill park. We spent hours playing there and on the what appeared to be "giant" slide. Thanks for the memory jogger.
Pam at www.2encourage.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Great poem, Tara! Well done.

Takes me back to when times were less complex and, strangely, more complete.

Rhonda @Laugh Quotes said...

Nicely done. Great poem. And so true, sadly - Video games and TV shows
Strip the mind of thinking power.

Precy Larkins said...

I LOVE this! And the message is true and powerful. My childhood was full of scraped knees and running around the neighborhood, tagging other kids. Or inventing our own games. I feel bad for my kids. The other kids in the neighborhood own motorized scooters or motorized little cars (What the heck, right?!?) and they're always zooming past our house. I mean, how can they play tag when they're fearing for their lives from reckless mini-drivers? Oh to go back to the old, simple days.

Angela Cothran said...

Amen and well said. Our children are missing out on some perfect pleasures of life.

Anonymous said...

Hey Tara, I don't remember that pi

cture of you and Peppy. How cute.

M Pax said...

This brought back a lot of memories of us gals taking over the jungle gym at school as a sort of club house. That was grammar school. I'd forgotten about it until reading this.

kjmckendry said...

Oh I so agree! We haven't had cable, therefore no tv in over 4 years and it has been wonderful!!! But I still feel the kids are too stuck to the computer. Nice poem.

Dawn M. Hamsher said...

Excellent message! My post for July 11 has a similar message (it compares life today with yesterday).

Thank you so much for the vivid pictures of fun with the jungle gym. Imagination is such a wonderful thing.

The Write Soil

Brianna said...

I'm inspired! If it wasn't so dang hot outside, I'd take my daughter to the park right now!

Small Town Shelly Brown said...

I LOVED our jungle gym growing up and as a mother of young children I can relate to these thoughts. Nice poem :)

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