A Lesson of Childhood Way Back When



A Lesson of Childhood Way Back When ©
Gary Shulman, MS. Ed.
July 11, 2023

At 4 years of age in my journey of life
Not yet tarnished by grown up bias
A truth I recall and recount it I must
Nothing too deeply profound nor pious
Two names reside neatly tucked in my mind
Daw-Tet and Shlirmy - friends that used to be
A revelation I had upon reaching old age
This revelation you will clearly soon see
It wasn’t until my vintage years
I realized something quite enlightening
Daw-Tet was Korean and no English he spoke
My well-seasoned senses started heightening!
What about dear Shlirmy my other best friend?
What story did my psyche recall?
Well Shlirmy was Hasidic I realized
And that didn’t matter at all!
Children spoke only the language of joy
Our neighbors were varied and diverse
Nobody was seen as any better
And nobody seen as any worse
We loved to visit and play and share
Though words used were sometimes unclear
Not one single iota did it matter back then
Those memories remain so warmly dear
So why today do we care so much
Of the things that make you different from me?
Back in the day all the children just played
Being caring, kind, loving and free!

About this poem

Sometimes simple lessons of childhood are profound and need to be studied in today's adult world.

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Written on July 11, 2023

Submitted by shulman.gary on July 11, 2023

Modified by shulman.gary on July 12, 2023

1:07 min read
2

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXX XBXBXCXCXDXDXEXEXFXFXGAGXCXC
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,170
Words 226
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 3, 28

Gary Shulman, MS. Ed.

Gary Shulman, MS. Ed. has spent a lifetime supporting vulnerable families and children. He began his career working with children with and without disabilities in an inclusive Head Start program in Brooklyn NY. He then transitioned to become the Special Needs and Early Childhood Coordinator for the Brooklyn Children's Museum for 10 years. His passion for advocacy grew as he worked more and more with parents of children with disabilities. For over 24 years he passionately advocated for the needs of these parents as the Social Services and Training Director for Resources for Children with Special Needs, Inc. in NYC. The last 8 years of his working life, Mr. Shulman served as a private Special Needs Consultant conducting hundreds of training sessions throughout NYC and beyond to help parents and professionals find and access the services and systems required to facilitate maximizing the potential of their children with disabilities. Now Mr. Shulman is happily retired in Palm Springs CA, but still volunteers his time any way he can to provide information to those in need of his expertise. Today, Gary enjoys sharing his poetry that he passionately writes with the goal of leaving this world a better place one word at a time. more…

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    "A Lesson of Childhood Way Back When" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/164313/a-lesson-of-childhood-way-back-when>.

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