Children in the Darkness
There are children in the darkness
Who have not seen the light
There are children in the darkness
Who someone will teach to fight
Chalk and blackboards will not be
To this door there is no key
From this life they can not flee
And these children are not free
Could we simply light a candle
Could we give them half a chance
Could we teach them how to read
Could we teach them how to dance
Or will a war consume them
Their body and their soul
Will their life and blood be poured
Down some endless thirsty hole
Back into the darkness
From which there is no flight
Back into the darkness
Into which there shines no light
Henry M. Bechtold
“Children in the Darkness” is a poem written by Henry M. Bechtold. He lives in Beautiful Bucks County, in south eastern Pennsylvania of the United States of America (U.S.A.). He was drafted as a soldier to Vietnam at 1967 and 1968. Since then, he has made several trips to Vietnam as “my soul lives in Vietnam”.
Just before Christmas in 2009, Henry Bechtold made a trip to Vietnam. He was in his hotel room in Saigon trying to write a poem about the abused girls who work in the park. At first he found it difficult to write anything meaningful. He got his inspiration when he looked at the TV when the news broadcast on. In the background of the news broadcast was a small boy with a helmet and rifle. The poem just “flowed out” of his mind.
Below is an analysis of the poem:
| Point | Evidence | Elaboration |
| Point of View: · Point of view of poet himself · Anti-war · A social point of view: dealing with the social consequences of war on children | · Understanding the situation of children stuck in the middle of a war · “Or will a war consume them” | · The whole poem talks about children suffering in a war · Show an understanding of the crisis children face in war, e.g. no education · The poet it himself was involved in the Vietnam war · Thus, the poem can be said to be written in the point of view of the poet himself. · The poet argues in his poem that war will, destroy, or “consume”, children · The children’s freedom of having an education. · “Chalk and blackboards will not be” in times of war. |
| Situation and Setting: · Children affected by war · Children are “consumed” silently in the midst of the chaos of a war · No education for children · inescapable | · “Who have not seen the light” · “Or will a war consume them” · “Could we teach them how to read / Could we teach them how to dance” · “From this life they can not flee” · “Chalk and blackboards will not be / To this door there is no key” | · Children who “have not seen the light” have never experienced anything but the tragedies of war · All the children understand is the situation in a war, where men fight till their death and the dark side of humanity: violence. · People are so engrossed in the war that they neglect the children’s need · An education for those children “will not be”, they could not run away from the situation at hand. · Destroys the children’s childhood. |
| Language and Diction: · Tries to connect t with the reader · Extensive use of juxtaposition/contrasts · Use of metaphor | · “Could we” · “darkness” and “light” · “endless thirsty hole” | · Use of “we” instead of “I” makes the reader feel connected, that he too could play a part in improving those children’s lives. · Used to compare the children’s lives to other children who had a “proper” childhood. “Light” symbolises the innocence of childhood · “Thirsty hole” used to describe the war, which destroy the children’s childhood |
| Personal Response: · Conveys the message of abused children · Brings awareness | · “Or will a war consume them” · “From this life they can not flee” | · Although the poem in itself has not much literature value, but it is a very meaningful poem. |
References:
· http://asialife.wordpress.com/2010/01/11/historians-of-ho-chi-minh-city-part-3-return-to-the-scene/
