CHILDREN IN THE DARKNESS

The poem reflects on how the lives of children were during the Vietnam War. The children live in darkness and nobody teaches them how to fight or study. The children don’t have a chance to study and learn and they have no freedom. The children live in war every day, fleeing from attacks and waiting for their doomsday.

The poem is written at a soldier’s point of view, the soldier was in during the war and he was sitting in my hotel room in Saigon just before Christmas, he looked at the TV and the news was on. I did not know what the news reader was saying but in the background was a photo of a small boy with a helmet and an automatic rifle. The soldier felt that the children was mistreated and they have no freedom.

The situation and setting is during the war period when everyone is afraid and tries to escape from getting killed in the war. There is darkness everywhere and no freedom.

The language used in the poem is repetition and metaphors; I find this poem disturbing as the children in the poem have lost freedom and are escaping from death during the war. The children do not have a chance to study or be able to defend themselves.