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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
WHAT ARE WE RAISING, by DOUGLAS MALLOCH Poet's Biography
First Line: You know how it is, what with children around
Last Line: But what are we raising here? Children, or grass?
Subject(s): Family Life; Relatives
First Line: You know how it is, what with children around
Last Line: But what are we raising here? Children, or grass?
Subject(s): Family Life; Relatives
"You know how it is, what with children around:
You can't have a lawn, as I guess you have found.
They're jumping, or digging, or driving a stake,
A tent out of carpet they're trying to make.
They keep out the new grass, they ruin the old,
No matter how much you may punish or scold.
Just look -- and here half of the Summer is gone;
I've just about given up hope of a lawn."
They may not remember that romping is wrong,
And yet they seem happy and healthy and strong.
The place may not look quite as well as it might,
But the cheeks full of roses are blooming all right.
The tent is a rather unsightly affair,
But the girls and the boys don't apparently care.
The lawn looks uneven to people who pass;
But what are we raising here? Children, or grass?
Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!
Other Poems of Interest...
MY AUNT ELLA MAE by MICHAEL S. HARPER
THE GOLDEN SHOVEL by TERRANCE HAYES
LIZARDS AND SNAKES by ANTHONY HECHT
THE BOOK OF A THOUSAND EYES: I LOVE by LYN HEJINIAN
CHILD ON THE MARSH by ANDREW HUDGINS
MY MOTHER'S HANDS by ANDREW HUDGINS
PLAYING DEAD by ANDREW HUDGINS
THE GLASS HAMMER by ANDREW HUDGINS
INSECT LIFE OF FLORIDA by LYNDA HULL
A DIFFERENT WAY by DOUGLAS MALLOCH