In everyday language, the poem 'My parents kept me from children who were rough' by Stephen Spender might go something like this (as a modern day summary:)
Title 'My parents controlled who I could hang out with'
My parents controlled who I could hang out with, especially the uneducated kids who they thought had no manner or future
That gang who shouted insults as if they were throwing stones, their clothes were cheap copy labels with no designer tags
They had the freedom of the 'hoods,' they climbed and trespassed and swam whereever they felt like it
I was more frightened of those street-wise kids than I was of wild fierce animals, their pecs like steel from pumping iron
as they pinned me down,and jailed my arms in a vice-like grip so I couldn't get up
I was scared of the brutal honesty of their stinging taunts and mocking mimicry
especially when they mocked my speech impediment
from behind my back
They were so agile and fast, they sprang out from their secret hideouts round the 'hood' like wolves to criticize the world the other half lives in - my world!
They showed disrespect by throwing offensive substances at me
while I pretended not to notice
hoping that, one day
they'd ask me to join their gang
but they never did.
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