I ALWAYS played with soldiers and had wars of our own with friends playing opposing armies, but I hate war & wish now for a permanent peace, though I know we have very little chance of living long enough to see that occur...Ed

Great commentary not only on childhood, but the current state of so-called adulthood that leads us on to purgatory...Jerry

As long as little boys keep playing with their toy soldiers we will not know peace. Well done, Liz. Love and peace,

Regis

Very Powerful
God Bless
Michelle~

Liz,
This strikes a powerful blow! This reminds me of the games I played as a child. I was like these boys - blind to the meaning behind my playful actions. I love the way this ends. Haunting! Love and Hugs:)
Sheila

What a beautiful write, if only it could be thesame with humans huh?

Back then it was fun and games today those Soldiers fight for real and if they survive they are sent on another tour of duty. A great write Elizabeth that you share with us.

Newfie hugs, Rose

Boy does this bring back precious memories of my brother playing with his tin solders. Wonderful poem filled with such joy for me, thank you my friend. Love, Bonnie

VERY GOOD!!! VERY VERY GOOD!!! TOTALLY EXCELLENT. IN FACT, OUTSTANDING. Wry and classy observation and satire. Effective in the extreme. :)) Kate xx

love this Liz, at first I hadn't caught on but I saw on the news where this soldier should have been home and finished his tour of duty but he was held over, this is when he got injured real bad

thought provoking write...with varied meanings
Cryssa

This one is powerfully write, Elizabeth
I think this can be interpreted many different ways
My thoughts of a child grew up with a father
That served in WW II and when the father sees him
Playing with toy soldiers it brings back the horrible realty of war
And then maybe I’m wrong
I also agreed with Fee
Powerful write!!
Peace Love and Light….and hugessss too…Morning star

Complex thoughts here that I read a lot into, as a child who grew up in the aftermath of WW II with a soldier for a father, I played two sodliers and war, as a teen I protested Vietnam, not the soldiers but the reasoning for the fight, as an adult working for the military I did my best to support our troops throught various engagements, now as a senior I tend to bask in confusion...
Fee

Beautiful Morning Liz,
This write is full of emotion for all our wars & our little boys learning to fight in play. It really is more than subliminal imprinting on the brain.
In my area of Lake County (maybe everywhere for all I know) toy guns must have a orange colored band on them (not that I agree with this kind of "toy") otherwise there are issues since these toys look real.
Embraced ~ Embrassé
Vickie

What a powerful write my friend...this is thought provoking, makes one think about the horrible realty of war and how too soon those little boys whom played with tin soldiers grew up and went to war! A touching write about a very real part of life! Well written my friend!
Blessings,
Joyce B.

I was going to say this is priceless, but Ronald said it well enough to make the point. While pipe and drums and marching bands, look wonderful from the stands, when real life demands the uniforms get dirty in the muck and full of holes, but then everywhere some idiots glorify war, so they can tell tales of their heroism, it usually starts with boys, being influenced by all that, I know I was, but I soon grew up seeing the real thing. Blessings! Jasmin Horst

Omnipotent little boys... why do we let them play?
Nice allegory Elizabeth!

Axilea

Bravo, Elizabeth. You made your point so wonderfully. Looking around, it seems the only ones who have the balls to speak out against this war are the poets.
Jean

Boys playing soldier glorifies war. Real soldiers know the pain and suffering that comes from killing people for no reason and having your best friends and comrades die before your eyes. War is hell and not a plaything. Your poem gets that across very well.

Ron

Too many of our young men are being lost never to return again. Hopefully peace will achieved sometime, but it may be years they said. Not an encouraging thing to look for for many years yet. Oh, well, time does seem to go fast nowadays though, so it may not be too long that peace will come to us.

This one is powerfully penned, Elizabeth, and so true - at least when REAL little boys play, the soldiers come back to fight another day ... well done.

(((HUGS))) and love, Karla.