Home Based Learning - Task 1

Children in the darkness – Task 1

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

This poem, titled “Children in the darkness”, depicts the consequences of war that stretches not only to the current generation but to the younger generations and their children.  It is written in such a way that the poem brings out the sufferings of war, specifically the limited options of the citizens to prepare themselves for blood and gore, the citizens’ desperate call for help, and the ugly future that lay ahead of them, by using descriptive language to explain the situation.

In the first stanza, the poet describes the present global situation of under-privileged children suffering under the violence of war. Darkness represents a sense of hopelessness and being trapped in their misery. The last line of the first stanza is the first hint in the whole poem that the poet is writing under the situation of war.

In the second stanza, the main focus is the children in war-affected countries. It gives a comparison of children in war zones with normal children living in peaceful countries. Unlike what we take for granted, the children do not have a choice to pursue any form of education and all their life revolves around trying to survive. The demoralizing thing is, they do not have a choice to choose their futures and can only suffer in silence.

In the third stanza, the poet gives examples about the pleasures in life that these children should be enjoying, instead of cowering in fear for every minute of their lives. It pricks our conscience, compelling us to take action and make their lives easier. Also, it enhances the comparison between the normal lives of children to those in war-affected countries.

In the fourth stanza, it depicts a scene of the most possible future for the children living in war-affected countries and the amount of suffering they have to endure, possibly to the extent of death. Regardless of their victory or defeat in war, the consequences that remain are immeasurable and will affect the generations to come indefinitely.

In the last stanza, it relates back to the first stanza to sum up all the main focus of the poem. In fact, these two stanzas can be combined as a summary of the situation in war-affected countries.

This poem attempts to provoke our feelings, motivating us to take action and save these children from their misery. It is clearly stated in the poem that these children do not have freedom or an alternative path in their lives, and perhaps it is the author’s intention to invoke our pity to donate help to these less fortunate people.