little children

little children

in the sandboxes,

playful toddlers

build, destroy

then build again

much like with Reconstruction

after Civil War's blight

the sands of two colors

find their lining in mesh

and then new wars arrive

and that which has been reborn

is smashed to tiny granules

of dismemberment

then the 60's,

and the sands of two colors

approach their lining in mesh

until the bully kicks the construct

into deconstruction

and words that are just words

blow away with the next storm

shovels of annihilation dig

deep into the souls

of a country

where political feet

kick what's built to the curb

ignoring instruction

to love and respect

with disregard for humanity

or circumspect

building very small structures 

that have no foundations

in common

and don't want to

be anymore than 

toddlers again---

impervious to the fact

those toddlers had more sense

than any grownup encountered

in their make-believe world.

erin-cilberto

8/14/22

Reviews

[Laz K.]

Great analogy! I'm sure many have the same disturbing realization that the supreme leaders of the global sandbox are acting like immature, egocentric, destructive brats. Children have an excuse: they don't know any better. But, what is the adults' excuse?

[jacob erin-cilberto]

yes, yes, and yes...the adults have no excuse.
thank you for your words, Laz.
j.

[Ken e Bujold]

playful toddlers indeed. I found the opening stanza with its easy observation of children in a sandbox building destroying then building again compared to the Reconstruction a wonderful metaphor. Also appreciated the open honest simple deconstruct the construction of the 60s verse, too often I find that period being remembered more as nostalgia than an honest attempt at reappraising.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for your kind and insightful review, Ken,
j.

[Earthrise]

Sometimes I wonder about the future of our country. I'm saddened to think that so much of our little republic was founded on the disagreement as to whether certain people are property. The fact that our species has ever been capable of that inhumanity makes me sick, but I'm discouraged to see the ways that same argument divides us today. Should we fear division, if so many of our differences really come down to that stark moral line? Can we hope that that old fight can be won?

I loved seeing this existential fear framed through a bully on a playground. It's comforting to think our confederate friends can be reduced to that. I also loved your use of repetition to drive home the point that the bully is still stamping his feet after all these years. An ugly topic, but a brilliant piece.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Thank you for your very kind review, Earthrise,
j.

[John the Baptist]

"And a little child shall lead them." Yes, sometimes a child can get the lambs and lions to lie down together, but then some bully comes along and starts the fighting all over again. This offering is very pertinent when one considers the divisions that currently rend this country.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

This reminds me of a brutal photograph I saw in "The War" where tiny bodies were heaped in a pile with half naked adults dropped on steps in haste by their would be rescuers. They had all died in a shelter hit by Japanese bombers. I'm currently reading the book with factual accounts from the people who lived it. It's quite amazing how ironic, dubious and outright stupid much of America was before and during WWII. At first we were isolationist, wanting nothing to do with a war in Europe. Then, the war came to our soil and our homeland. We refused to think we could be victims as German U boats sunk many of our cargo vessels off our Atlantic coast, killing civilian sailors and destroying supplies. The cities refused to douse the lights that the enemy used as a beacon of attack until so many had died because of that mistake. They didn't want to "hurt tourism". I read Washington Goes to War by David Brinkley many years ago and it echoed the same sort of American bravado and conceit bringing destruction down on our own heads. Oh, to be innocent children again, but perhaps that naivety isn't the best course of action for our survival. I enjoyed the read.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

we say we don't but we do.
thank you for your insights, Fabian,
j.

[Patricia Wedel]

“Suffer the little Children to come unto me… for such is the Kingdom of Heaven”. Amen 🙏

[jacob erin-cilberto]

Amen, Pat,
j.

[Cyprian Van Dyke]

I like the meaning behind the imagery. How much has changed thru-out time? Wonderfully penned. tyfs

[jacob erin-cilberto]

thank you for getting something from this, Cyprian,
j.