A Little Boy, A Little Time
Rhiannon Rodderick
Poetry
The epitome of health, the embodiment of pain,
Running on the grass, dancing in the rain.
Teeth glistening in the sunshine, eyes sparkling in the night.
The epitome of peace, the embodiment of fright.
Running on the grass, dancing in the rain.
Teeth glistening in the sunshine, eyes sparkling in the night.
The epitome of peace, the embodiment of fright.
The epitome of joy, the embodiment of sorrow,
We knew too well, he may not be here tomorrow..
The indiscriminate virus, destroyed his body but not his soul.
The epitome of warmth, the embodiment of cold.
The epitome of strength, the embodiment of meek,
One more chance to smile is all that he would seek.
Knowing he had little time left, never would he cry,
The epitome of life, just told me he was going to die.
Finding a topic to form the basis of this creative assessment was something of a daunting task at the beginning. Having to write about a subject that involved enough scope to create around was an interesting experience, as I scanned though my minds catalogue of life memories. It wasn’t hard to settle upon the topic I have chosen to base my work on, as my travels to South Africa and the impact this portion of my life had on me was irreversible.My work with orphans who were either HIV positive or indeed AIDS was both an incredible privilege and a heart-rending experience. Trying to encapsulate the thoughts and feelings that surge through your mind when you recall such a life changing experience is a challenge of the highest order, as sometimes words are not sufficient to express the diversity of emotions that a person can feel all in the same instant. I find when I write poems it’s easier for me to make them rhyme, as the structure it provides gives me a framework around which I can organise my thoughts and express them as aptly as I am able. The use of contrasts in the poem was an attempt to highlight the stark contrasts that I encountered on my travels. The contrast between a symbol of life and future hope i.e. a small child, yet the reality of death and the bleak future for the inhabitants of Sub-Saharan Africa which is seen in the tragedy of the AIDS virus. It is these dipoles that I have tried to reflect in the few short lines of this poem, hopefully the reader can appreciate the feelings of helplessness and heartbreak experienced by so many in that part of our world.
Whole Person Care – Year One
Seriously beautiful poem
Great poem
This piece if eye opening and beautifully written. Its topic is saddening but needs to be made more aware of in the public eye.
I think this poem can be looked at in many different ways but for me it highlights that it is difficult to differentiate between seeing someone as a person or as a disease or illness. Illness or disease can define a person so easily and so fully that you forget to see the person as part of a wider family or community. Conversely, there are times that you may not be able to see past someone, who seems so happy and free of disease but may have a serious, in this case terminal illness.
This is a short but sweet poem that uses contrasts in lines 1 and 4 of each verse really well to show the contrast between a lively young child and his impending death. I particularly like the final line, where the break in structure and dischord caused by a strange number of syllables really jars the reader, which I imagine is exactly what the author intended.
I like that the poem has rhyming couplets as part of its rhyme scheme give it a solid and constant pattern, they repeated refrain of epitome and embodiment in the poem reminds us constantly of the social presentation of sick person of them being categorised as just sick and not as the person they were before. The authorities also uses contrasting adjective within these refrains, showing the contrast between the boy and also the illness he had contracted. The first stanza isn’t quite as black as the rest, using adjectives like “sparkling” and “sunshine,” to describe the abundance of health and strength possessed by the boy regardless of his diseases. the last time although very sombre has a nice tough of finality to it, in knowing that the strength and life possessed by the boy will continue but it is him only physically that would leave.
I love the use of repetition here to highlight how shocked the narrator was upon seeing the contrast between the character’s bright and lively persona and his unfortunate prognosis. Despite being only 3 stanzas, this poem manages to show the extent of the loss. It could perhaps reflect the boy’s life – short, but powerful and undoubtedly meaningful. I think this poem is all about how society doesn’t view young people as the typical patients in the ‘sick role’ and therefore when a doctor or medical student first deals with a case like this it makes a huge impact.