Analysis of And We Survived
Gary Shulman, MS. Ed. 1950 (USA)
And We Survived! ©
Gary Shulman, MS. Ed.
July 24, 2023
Not going to spout judgements
Just stating what was back then
Perhaps something to be gleaned
Not particularly profound nor spiritually Zen
As a young child of the fifties
A few things I shall freely share
Some of you will remember
Others might barely care
But looking back on times that were
Can sometimes give perspective
And should you gain some wisdom now
Acting upon it will be 100% elective
So mom and dad like chimneys did smoke
Just like Lucy and Ricky did
No sensitivity whatsoever given
To a soon to be asthmatic kid
We rode our bikes with speed and verve
Helmets no place to be found
And when we raced past dead man’s curve
Our bodies mostly stayed safe and sound
No technology games nor computers we had
Our minds would fervently create
For fun and games we’d conjure up
Our senses they’d satiate
No playdates were ever needed
No hyper-scheduled organized fun
There were only daily adventures
And spontaneous roles for everyone
I am certainly not going to passionately preach
Nor sermonize ad-infinitum
But I will just say a few more things
Feel free to agree or blatantly fight them
Of course the obvious addictions were vile
Like smoking in your children’s faces
And perhaps some safety precautions were warranted
To prevent broken bones in so many places
But spontaneous creativity freely given
To children with brains yearning to grow
Helped engender this wizened creative poet
Giving rock solid confidence I surely do know!
To this day my mind wanders to those times
When all children roamed streets of wondrous delight
When our own creativity mattered
Problems usually solved with nary a fight
Trust given by parents and all parents looked out
And cared for each child and I have no doubt
We still felt loved and no technology to be found
When we ran, screamed and fell in our local playground
I do believe the time has come
To stop this verbosity
And finalize with a simple thought
About my shared philosophy
The safety features we duly impose
Of course we know are good
And every responsible caregiver
Please do impose them for indeed you should!
I only implore you gift your children
The joyous full use of a wondrous mind
Allowing the magical flow of creativity
So they’ll grow confident, inquisitive and kind
Scheme | AXX XBXB XCDC DEXE XFGF HIHI XXXA XGXG XJXX XKFK GLXL XMXM NNII JAXO XPDP GQOQ |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 0101 101011 1 1101110 1101111 0110111 11000011100001 10111010 01111101 1111010 101101 11011110 1011010 01111101 1001111010 110111011 11100101 1010001010 101110101 111011101 1011111 01111111 1010101101 101001101011 101110001 11011101 101011 1101010 11010101 101010010 001001110 11100110110001 1110100 111110111 11101110011 11010001001 110011010 0011100100100 101101011010 1010001001010 110111011 101011001010 1011010011011 1111110111 11101111001 1101010010 101000111001 110110011011 0111101111 1111010100111 111101010101 11010111 1111 01010101 01110100 0101011001 111111 0100010010 1101110111 1100111110 0101110101 0100100110100 111100010001 |
Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
Characters | 2,319 |
Words | 425 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 16 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 63 |
Letters per line (avg) | 30 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 117 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 25 |
About this poem
Some of the joys of being a child in the 1950s and lessons current parents might learn form those days.
Font size:
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"And We Survived" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 11 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/165044/and-we-survived>.
Discuss this Gary Shulman, MS. Ed. poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In