We Shoot Children Don’t We?
We Shoot Children, Don’t We by Dan Almagor highlights and identifies citizens’ hardships during the Israel-Palestine conflict. The poem describes how children should learn to express their own identities.
“Most of the people truly desire to raise their kids, not to throw stones or Molotov cocktails, but to study in peace.”
According to him, kids shouldn’t be taught to fight each other but to make peace between people for equality instead of battling against the enemy. Despite the long history of this war, people want to end it to live without it. Battling against Palestine is pointless and leaders lose lives.
In the last stanza, he states that “Seasons may come and seasons may go. Life goes on, as we very well know. Weddings, births, and deaths are all the same. But just the shame of it, the shame.”This shows the reader that life still continues through highs and lows throughout one’s life. But feeling shame about the war continuing is awful.
Upon analyzing this poem, I had no idea a war had broken out between Israel and Palestine. It surprised me how many people struggled during a war that should have ended sooner than later.
I heard one of Dan’s translated plays called “Fiddler on the Roof” which didn’t relate to his poems at all. But simply looking at the title made me feel that something terrible had occurred and children’s lives had been lost.
For me, people avoid standing up for themselves because of the consequences that can occur. I believe that these people should have stood up no matter what since it becomes pointless to fight for no reason. People should be able to turn past experiences into something better, not negatively.
In the poem, there was a lot of imagery to help readers understand what citizens faced. For example, the flag symbol represents unity in embracing one’s own identity. Let yourself avoid war, so children won’t kill others for a happy life.
Although this poem focuses only on Israel and Palestine, it can be related to any country that faces war and chaos. Every country encounters some issues that cannot be resolved, so standing up for the end of the war is essential. Almagor attempted to teach everyone about the war and how citizens suffered to end it. Yet they will all feel ashamed of not taking the right steps to end the problem.
A Child Before a Mirror of Strangers
In our lives, we’re constantly advised to make the most of our childhood. Enjoy engaging experiences that stimulate your imagination before you’re too old to do them. However, when people adjust to adulthood, they realize that some children don’t embrace their childhood memories. This is a major issue that will influence their lives in the future.
The poem “A Child Before a Mirror of Strangers” by Wole Soyinka truly expresses the idea that as you get older, adults tend to affect their kids
because of their forgotten images of childhood. The poem explains that future generations are growing up fast and presenting themselves as adults instead of children. Most adults wish they had taken advantage of their childhood to create memories but now it’s too late. You lose sight of yourself when your true self is out of reach. Even though it’s easy to forget memories, as a mature person, they should be recalled to reflect our current lives. Children who are forced to grow up should stay as they are since that will allow them to experience the wonders of the world.
I relate to the poem since it makes me feel nostalgic about my younger self and who I am today. It allowed me to reflect on how I forgot my own favorite childhood memories.
It shows me that I should try to remember the past, even though it’s challenging. This is because I’m becoming a grown-up very soon, and my perspective has surely changed to the point where I will forget to relive it. But I know things can be remembered for very specific reasons.
So even to this day,I still wonder why I erased memories that may have played a big part in my life now. Despite this, I should embrace the fact that my childhood was special to me and try to relive it as soon as possible.