Average Families

[Spring Blossom]

Here is another one of my poems (by request)

Average Families

The average family of today
is not the same
as the average family
of recent past.

Before, a family had
a mother, a father,
and kids.
All happy together.

But the families of here and now
have a mother, a father,
kids,
a court case,
step-mother, step-father,
step-brothers, step-sisters,
half-sisters, half-brothers.
All fighting together.

A family doesn't seem right if
the teenage child
doesn't hate their parents.
Or no-one has one
desease or another.

It is expected that all families
have something that causes them to
fight
argue
bicker and
ignore each other.

Minority has turned into majority,
common to uncommon,
expected to unheard of.
Modern and happy an oxymoron.

I told you it wasn't as good as "lost childhood" :D

[spally]

i think that its great. maybe a little polishing would be good, but all around its very good.

[amanda_isabel]

i agree with the idea of what families are today. and the ones that suffer from it the most are the kids... (poor guys..), but i think if you edited it enough it would be better. :)

[spally]

your right, families are like that today...i know mine is. but then things get better. :nod:

[Grumbleguts]

You have a rosy view of the families of the past Spring Blossom. I can assure you that they were quite as unhappy when I grew up over 60 years ago as they are now. All that has changed is that divorce, separation, remarriage and cohabitation are far more socially acceptable in the western world than they used to be. In my day there was little alternative than to put a brave face on things and keep up appearances. My parents were strangers living in the same house for the last 40 years of their marriage.
On the subject of your poem I am in agreement with the other contributors in saying that it requires polish and editing. You could say all of that in half as many words and it would benefit from the surgery, provided that you chose the 'correct' words that is.

[Spring Blossom]

:nod: I need more practise with poems. This is one of my earlier ones and i really do need to go back over it again.

I know that families in the past weren't perfect, but i'm still on a single-message-per-poem level of writing! I'm glad you guys like the general idea though! :D

[Chava]

I don't know if i can agree with all that. I often find that divorce makes for a better family anyway. My parents got divorced a few years ago, and to be honest, life didn't change much. Instead things got more organised, and I got closer to my mom.
I like my dad, but he lives on the other side of the planet, and c'est la vie. My home feels warmer when they're not being icy with each other.

[Mililalil XXIV]

You have a rosy view of the families of the past Spring Blossom. I can assure you that they were quite as unhappy when I grew up over 60 years ago as they are now. All that has changed is that divorce, separation, remarriage and cohabitation are far more socially acceptable in the western world than they used to be. In my day there was little alternative than to put a brave face on things and keep up appearances. My parents were strangers living in the same house for the last 40 years of their marriage.
On the subject of your poem I am in agreement with the other contributors in saying that it requires polish and editing. You could say all of that in half as many words and it would benefit from the surgery, provided that you chose the 'correct' words that is.
But it is possible to reach a goal as high as a cherished ideal. Without a target, nothing is arrived at. There were more chances of arriving at an ideal that was not yet thrown aside. The chances have slimmed along with the whittling of the ideals. I believe that Spring Blossom refers to a reality to target ratio, if I am not mistaken. Was there not an ideal for more back then that she refers back to than is allowed to be considered today?