Flowers are Red
by Harry Chapin
The little boy went first day of school
He got some crayons and started to draw
He put colors all over the paper
For colors was what he saw
And the teacher said.. What you doin%26#039; young man
I%26#039;m paintin%26#039; flowers he said
She said... It%26#039;s not the time for art young man
And anyway flowers are green and red
There%26#039;s a time for everything young man
And a way it should be done
You%26#039;ve got to show concern for everyone else
For you%26#039;re not the only one
And she said...
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There%26#039;s no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen
But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one
Well the teacher said.. You%26#039;re sassy
There%26#039;s ways that things should be
And you%26#039;ll paint flowers the way they are
So repeat after me.....
And she said...
Flowers are red young man
Green leaves are green
There%26#039;s no need to see flowers any other way
Than they way they always have been seen
But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow
So many colors in the morning sun
So many colors in the flower and I see every one
The teacher put him in a corner
She said.. It%26#039;s for your own good..
And you won%26#039;t come out %26#039;til you get it right
And all responding like you should
Well finally he got lonely
Frightened thoughts filled his head
And he went up to the teacher
And this is what he said.. and he said
Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There%26#039;s no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen
Time went by like it always does
And they moved to another town
And the little boy went to another school
And this is what he found
The teacher there was smilin%26#039;
She said...Painting should be fun
And there are so many colors in a flower
So let%26#039;s use every one
But that little boy painted flowers
In neat rows of green and red
And when the teacher asked him why
This is what he said.. and he said
Flowers are red, green leaves are green
There%26#039;s no need to see flowers any other way
Than the way they always have been seen.
FLowers ARe REd. by Harry Chapin. How Does this Poem Make You Feel?
The poem describes the experience of so mnay children - not with their teachers (although it does happen) but with their parents. It%26#039;s not that their parents are stupid or unimaginative or intentionally cruel - but they miss the beauty and creativity that the child brings and the child comes to believe that it%26#039;s not OK to be fully themselves. So they create a %26#039;false self%26#039;, a child who will get it right and be who they have thought the adults wanted them to be. And it works.... and so they stick with it because it is seriously scarey to do it any other way - they fear they will be rejected and unloved, although all this is on an unconscious level. And then they arrive in my consulting room, or that of any other psychotherapist or counsellor, as adults, feeling that their relationships never work, that they are unfulfilled, that life has been a real disappointment. It takes a lot of courage for someone to begin to let themselves know about, let alone talk about, the inner child who saw all the colours...... but if everything conspires to make it possible, there is a beautiful healing and the child glows again in the adult.
Reply:it really is an amazing poem. it realy describes so much more than just flowers. it shows how not just teachers, but people want to mold others into what they believe is right. and how they force them to see things how they see it and it is not alwasy a better way. hmm. anothe example is how children have to take writing tests and they are graded. i think it is sometimes rediculous that writing is graded. it is purely an opinion.
Reply:First of all, Harry Chapin was one of the MOST amazing song-writers of the world. He was so concerned with the problems of the world and his music and songs portrayed this.
It was a shame that the world lost him so early in his life.
This song is about accepting differences in people.
This song, shows us that children are influenced by the important people in their lives and that this influence is great. This child was first taught to draw something a certain way and was punished for being different. When he finally conformed to the way %26quot;things should have been,%26quot; he was accepted and allowed to join in with the other children.
The feeling that he was different was carried through until he met another teacher who accepted his differences and allowed him to be himself.
Amazing Harry Chapin......Thank you
performing arts
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