Behind Grandma's House

     Behind Grandma’s House was great comic relief from some of the more serious poems we had read.  The poem is about a boy behind his grandmother’s house, trying to act tough by doing some ridiculous things; “kicking over trash cans…I hurled light bulbs like grenades…I flicked rocks at cats.” (lines 6, 8, 11)  He is doing everything he can in this alley to disturb the peace.  He even goes as far as swearing at an imaginary priest.  This is when his grandmother comes outside and says, “Let me help you.”(line 20) She then proceeds to punch him between the eyes.

     Was I glad when his grandma punched him in the face? I was a little bit, as awful as that sounds.  This kid needed to be put in his place, after cursing like a sailor.  Maybe the grandma could have taken a different rout and washed his mouth out with soap, which would have been sufficient as well, but she decided to go old school and pop him right in between the eyes.  In the old days she would have easily gotten away with this claiming she was disciplining him but today, if anyone saw what she did, she would probably go to jail.

     I myself was once a ten-year-old boy so I know what it is like to want to be tougher and older.  I would often find myself trying to play touch football with boys that were four or five years older than my and I learned pretty fast that those four of five year made a huge difference.  They could’ve played for the Steelers, well at least in my mind they could have.  I got my butt whopped repeatedly, I came home with grass stains all over my clothes and I couldn’t be happier.  My mom wasn’t too happy though.  “At the I wanted fame.” (line 1)I can relate with this little boy, I tried to be tough I wanted to be a pro football player but wasn’t ready for the big boys…in middle school, while he tried to be tough and was put in his place by of all people, his grandma.  I’m pretty sure he’s tougher from this experience, and in the end he will be a stronger man.  He will be humbled by this experience and hopefully he’ll work hard to achieve whatever goals he wants in life, and hopefully those goals aren’t being a criminal or a tough guy because I’m sure no matter where he’s at in life if his grandma is still around she would be more than willing to put him in his place.