{"id":5123,"date":"2026-03-18T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/?p=5123"},"modified":"2026-03-17T15:29:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:29:48","slug":"fun-and-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/index.php\/2026\/03\/18\/fun-and-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Fun and Games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">By Draven Copeland, Managing Editor<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-chaikong2511-34552-1200x800.jpg\" alt=\"PistolBarrel\" class=\"wp-image-5119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-chaikong2511-34552-1200x800.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-chaikong2511-34552-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-chaikong2511-34552-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-chaikong2511-34552-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.imaginarygardens.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-chaikong2511-34552-2048x1365.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The end can come in a flash. | Somchai Kongkamsri (Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\"><strong>(Content Warning: This poem contains discussion of child death, suicide, racism and physical abuse)<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Three days ago, a young boy was shot<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He played with toy guns, looking up to his older brother<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He played war with his friends, shooting foam darts from wooden treehouses<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He prayed over food with his grandmother, hugging her goodnight before he settled into his twin bed<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He prayed to make it out of the apartments with his friends, hoping to make it big like Kendrick<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He died because an officer had a real gun and played real war on people that looked like that young boy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Two days ago, a young girl was shot<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She played with Barbies, wishing she\u2019d find her Ken when she grew up<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She played dress-up with her friends, practicing with makeup and singing Disney princess songs<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She prayed for safety for her family, fearing for her parents when they went out at night<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She prayed for forgiveness when she said \u201cOh my god\u201d instead of \u201cOh my gosh\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She died because a kid in her class had a real gun and played nihilism with his classmates\u2019 lives<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Yesterday, a group of young boys shot themselves<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They played video games online, looking at the hot girls with giant breasts<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They played pranks on the girls at school, hoping for their attention and maybe even a kiss<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They prayed they\u2019d get away with it, if they were smart about it<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They prayed they\u2019d all keep the secret to themselves, even if the cops came questioning<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They died because they had real guns and realized that playing with people\u2019s bodies kills them slower than the bullet would<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, a group of young girls were shot<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They played on monkey bars at recess, waiting to go home to their families<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They played games in class, passing notes to one another and making fun of their math teacher\u2019s lisp<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They prayed for peace in their country and the world around them as they watched the news<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They prayed for old men with bombs to stop dismissing human lives as collateral damage<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They died because old men had real guns and liked to play real war from the safety of their bunkers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Tomorrow, we will all die<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We play \u201clife\u201d with each other, spending our time who we have the most fun playing with<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We play games and watch tv and buy things that we know we can\u2019t take with us when we go<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We pray for the next generation, hoping things will get better for our kids<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We pray that our sins won\u2019t affect our children, disregarding reality for an American dream<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We die because playing and praying won\u2019t change what real people do when they play without real consequences<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>We die because we live<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We live because we die<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Draven Copeland, Managing Editor (Content Warning: This poem contains discussion of child death, suicide, racism and physical abuse) Three days ago, a young boy was shot He played 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