CHILD ABUSE

by Henry Mukherji

TITLE PAGE PHOTO LINK: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/stop-child-abuse/images/16944743/title/sad-photo 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION The topic I chose for my poem, child abuse, is a big issue in the world today. Child abuse can be emotional, physical, or neglecting a child. Neglecting a child is the most common type of child abuse, followed by physical abuse. About 2 in 100,000 children died in 2008 for causes related to abuse. There can be very severe effects on the child who is abused. Acting out, being depressed, or having anxiety are common problems associated with child abuse. As adults, people physically abused as a child can have pain in certain areas such as the head and pelvis for no discernable reason. Abused children are 59% more likely to be arrested as children, 28% more likely to be arrested as adults, and 30% more likely to commit violent crimes. I am interested in this topic because it can be such a huge problem in our world today and can be very brutal to the children. Through my poem, I want to raise awareness and show how bad child abuse can really be. 3. POEM Remembering by Henry Mukherji I peered at him and remembered the face staring back at me that I hadnt seen for years and it triggered in my memory something deep down in the vaults of my mind. it was a rusty old file in a drawer seldom opened in a room deeply hidden in my mind ina room to which no one had the key to but me. the memory went: me with red marks all over my face my father with his hands red

a scowl and no regret no regret at all and me howling howling howling and I looked at him again and I remembered I remembered. and I hoped he could remember too what he had done time after time but looking at him i know he doesnt and even though my face was hidden with the mask of a smile underneath that mask i was crying crying crying... 4. ANALYSIS Question 3-Poetic Elements: One poetic element used in this poem is metaphor. In the first stanza the poet says, it was a rusty old file/ in a drawer seldom opened/ in a room deeply hidden in my mind/a room to which no one had the key to but me. This is comparing a memory to a file in a room in his mind. When the poet says a room to which no one had the key to but me, he is saying that no one else has this memory but him. This is effective because it is a good metaphor that clearly shows its meaning. Another poetic element used in the poem was repetition. At the end of the second stanza, three times the poet repeats the word howling. Again at the end of the third stanza the poet repeats the word crying. The poetic device of repetition was used effectively to show the importance of the words howling and crying. Repetition was also effectively used to link the words. Howling and crying have similar meanings, and they both show a sadness in the person in the poem. Question 4-Message: The message of the poem is that even years later, abuse as a child can haunt someone. In this poem, the man says that he is seeing the face that he hadnt seen for years. The face is presumably the face of his father. They seemed to have grown apart since he says he hasnt seen the face for years. But upon seeing the face, the man can remember his father hitting him as a child. In the third stanza, the man says he hoped he could remember too/what he had done, possibly because the man wants his father to feel guilt for his actions. The message

is that the father might not remember or even care what he had done to his son, but his son remembers and is still frightened by the experience. The larger message is that child abuse can have a large effect on peoples lives, even years after they are abused, because the traumatic experience stays with them. 5. CONNECTION TO SONG One song that relates to the theme and message of the poem is Anger Rising by Jerry Cantrell. One of the lines in the songs is Anger rising up inside him yet again. This is showing the father getting angry at his son. It also is saying that it happens frequently, because of the phrase yet again. Another two lines in the son are, Mother crying, calling out up the stair/by the way father, do you even care that I'm scared? These lines show that the mother is horrified by the father abusing the son, and the second line is showing that the father doesnt even seem to care. This relates to the poem because the father doesnt seem to care that hes hurting his child in both the poem and the song. Also in both the poem and the song, the abuse seems to happen frequently. 6. ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Henry Mukherji was born on August 14th, 2000. He lives in New York. Remembering is one of the many poems he has written. He currently goes to the United Nations International School. He enjoys listening to music and basketball.