The shoe vs the sandal. (01/12/01.)

If it was a choice between her and me
With whom would u rather be?
A stranger for whom your love has just alit
Or someone who has seen you thru every bit
She may be glamorous, beautiful and bold
But isn’t old still gold!?
She may make your heart skip
But will she hold you when you trip?
Days and months will fly fast
Is it a lifetime that her love will last?
Choosing between us is of course your call
Although let me warn you… she will surely make you fall!

(C) http://love-marks.blogspot.com/

Nursery Rhymes alright!?

Found myself wondering how morbid some of the poems/songs I had learnt,were. The childhood ones to be precise. And even more specifically, the English rhymes.

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Take for example, 'Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down, broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after!'. Poor Jack- imagine actually happening to a little boy- we'd have to call 911 asap! And imagine that poor girl coming rolling from the hill.....!!!

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Then there's 'Inky pinky ponky (please don't laugh on this one, we did learn it!)... Father had a donkey. Donkey Died, father cried. Inky Pinky Ponky!' As a kid too, I always felt bad hearing about the poor donkey....but understood it's significance much later.

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And, "Piggy on the railways lines, picking up stones. Down came an engine and broke Piggy's bones. "AAh", said the Piggy, "that's not fair". "Oh!" Said the engine driver, "I don't care!" Where have those animal activists gone? You teaching a kid to run over a pig and saying it's ok!?

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Some more:

"Barber, barber, shave a pig!How many hairs to make a wig?Four and twenty, that's enough!Give the barber a pinch of snuff"......

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Good night, sleep tight,

Don’t let the bedbugs bite.

And if they do, then take your shoe

And knock ‘em ‘til

They’re black and blue!

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"Goosey, goosey, gander,Whither shall I wander?Upstairs, and downstairs,And in my lady's chamber.
There I met an old manWho wouldn't say his prayers!I took him by the left legAnd threw him down the stairs."

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"Rock-a-bye, baby,in the tree top.When the wind blows,the cradle will rock.When the bough breaks,the cradle will fall,And down will come baby,cradle and all. "

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"My Bonnie lies over the ocean,My Bonnie lies over the sea.My Bonnie lies over the ocean,Please bring back my Bonnie to me.
Bring back,Bring back,Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me.Bring back,Bring back,Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me.
Last night as I slept on my pillow,Last night as I slept on my bed,Last night as I slept on my pillow,I dreamt that my Bonnie was dead.
Bring back,Bring back,Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me, to me.Bring back,Bring back,Oh, bring back my Bonnie to me"

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"Solomon Grundy,Born on Monday,Christened on Tuesday,Married on Wednesday,Took ill on Thursday,Worse on Friday,Died on Saturday,Buried on Sunday: This is the end of Solomon Grundy."

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Many of these rhymes have a significance/ an adult explanation of thoughts, but why introduce these thoughts to kids? As a child, I obviously never understood the nuances of the poems, but would feel bad while saying some, and didn't know why. Now, when I re-read them I realise the subtle negativity that flows through them, which sub-consiously stays on in the mind.

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And this is not to sound political correct. Neither is this post on the line of thought as those who think Enid Blyton and other children stories are racist, sexist or xenophobic.(now that thought is utter rubbish and I certainly do not agree with it- but that on some other post...)

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My question is, what on earth are these morbid poems doing in children's books and why are they taught in schools?

Echoes of the mind.

Life's bits and pieces i pick up
fragments are all i see...
through passing days and many moonlights
only shadows remain with me.
*************
bittersweet memories
so like the coffee I drink
thoughts of you spilleth over
and more into the dark waters i sink...
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wounds heal but scars remain
till some things notch at the memory strings
and all one remembers is the pain.