The Child



Young child,
Oblivious, reckless, meaningless troubles
No purpose does the child serve.

Throbbing hearts beat in my hand
Yet the child lay naked and starved.

A man I have become overnight.
The child’s youthfulness disturbs me.

Expecting his death, her death, my death
Become someone else’s young wife
While I prepare for her son to fall at my kee

I am ready to let this child go free.
Time is up!
I have baggage
I am damaged goods.

Don’t write, don’t speak, don’t think
Do you understand?

With my ego fully clothed
Nothing means nothing
And nothing needs talking about.

My men, my life, my fight, their fight.
No room for a child’s spirit
The child’s hands are clean, and mine dirty.

Find another likeminded sprout
One strike, two-strike.
I’m out.

About this poem

This poem was inspired by a young man who goes through war and leaves behind his young girlfriend. He talks about her as if she is a child and he is a grown man but the two are of the same age.

Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted by Lyricalhuman on June 01, 2021

Modified on March 05, 2023

39 sec read
7

Quick analysis:

Scheme XXX AX BC XXC CXXX XA XXD BXC DXD
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 740
Words 131
Stanzas 9
Stanza Lengths 3, 2, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3, 3, 3

Discuss the poem The Child with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "The Child" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/101486/the-child>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    March 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    3
    days
    14
    hours
    35
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Browse Poetry.com

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    A group of lines that form a division of a poem is a _________.
    A couplet
    B paragraph
    C stanza
    D line