The Child Who Walks Backwards

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Life is a Circle:

Truly, "Life is a Circle" According to the poem (The Child who Walk Backwards by Lorna

Cozier), life has got various stages in ones' life. For instance, when one is young or born, he or she

is protected with his or her parents until the age of roughly ten (10) years, where he or she gets to

know how to do things on his or her own like; bathing, washing and so forth. But apart from all

these things done to him or her, there is a stage of adolescence that blind the child to appoint where

most of them crazy things do.

In this poem, the main theme is life stages. According to my level of understanding, the

poet wanted to analyze majorly the stage of the adolescence stage which is usually like a dream

that makes the affected individual act like he or she is unconscious. This young boy that is talked

about by the poet, knocks himself against cupboards, door knobs, climbs trees with a boldness that

is equal to that of a cat, cracks his skull on the bed poles and walks backward hence burning his

knees while in dean or unconscious. This means that when the boy wakes up, or when he gets

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conscious, he bears the pain of all this activities or drama that he does while unconscious. This is

exactly the same case with adolescent stage, where adolescents tattoo their bodies, become so

reckless, proud and courage to walk half naked in public, involve in drugs, boycott school and

become irrespective. This unlawful done by these adolescents while unconscious makes them

regret when they get to the stage of adulthood, where they now get conscious. They really bear the

pain for these things that they did and one can prove it when you hear most adults say "I wish I

could do this and that" "I could not be where I am today". These create the mood and tone of

regrets and diminishment.

The idea of retrogression is brought out in this poem. The poet says "He walks backward

into fireplace" this shows how adolescence brings about the theme of life retrogression to

adolescents. This is because they do things, thinking that they are right, or in order to fit into their

peer groups whether harmful of health to their bodies, but at the end of their deal, they find

themselves in a lower level than where they were prior. For instance, when they get into using

weed in order to please their peer groups, seal in order to get money like their friend who might

be having a lot of money. These activities lead to retrogressions in life, because when they get into

activities like excessive alcohol drinking and cigarettes usage ant this tender age, they may end up

getting health problems on future that will hinder them from doing beneficial things. Again,

involvement in theft cases would lead to imprisonment which in return, affects their performance

in schools, cause death and lead to accumulation of curses in their lives. This adolescent stage is

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the life testing stage which is a foundation stage and matters a lot in the whole life of any

individual, but unlike it is important, it is the stage that many youths become "Fire". This

metaphor is real since it means, the adolescents become serious in destroying their lives in the

stage. "Those who built their house on the rock, when the storms came and the weed blew and beat

against their house, it did not fell", this biblical allusion shows that, when these adolescents s built

a strong foundation of their lives in this stage, they do not regret forever in their lives.

When the poet uses the literal language "The child runs to things" he tries to elaborate

that, adolescent's rush into doing things without consulting, thinking and caring. It is due to running

into things that this child knocks his face, cracks his skull and even burns his knees. In connection

to adolescence, rushing into things is what makes them lost their bearing. When considering issues

like; emerging and trending activities, the adolescents are always the first to know them and get

involved in them. Why is this so? Is it that the youths have more knowledge than adults? Or is it

that youths are so brilliant and gets things so first? No, it is not so, by the way, there are adults out

there who are learned and have the capability of doing these emerging things perfectly well than

youths (adolescents)., but the fact is that they do not run into things. I mean adults are wise like

snakes(simile), the first look into things, see their effects and consequences and after coming up

with a clear analysis, it is when they decide whether to get involved into them or not. It is normal

that these adolescents get into things without their parents' consent and when the things backfire,

it is when the parent gets to know. This paragraph has covered a major problem (Running into

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things) that is dominating adolescents leading to breaking of bridges. Since many youths are

abandoned by their parents at this time due to rudeness, hence they become street children.

It is due to adolescence stage that one's life becomes successful or miserable. This is

because the poet says; "The child is bothered by dreams" this statement is symbolic since it covers

the whole idea that, the things done in adolescence stage is not because of willingness but because

of the feelings and changes that bother the affected individuals. Again, the poet says, "He rises in

his bed to steal through halls and plummet like a wounded bird down the flight of stairs," this

shows how adolescents tiptoe out during the night when their parents are deep asleep to attend

nightclubs and dates that they did not involve their parents. This brings out the theme of ignorance,

that, it is due to ignorance of the adolescents that they find themselves in hot coals. Is going to

nightclubs an offense? And is dating a crime? All these rhetorical questions bring out the

atmosphere of sadness and despair. It is sad that the things done by adolescents are controllable.

It is only that they do not involve their parents in their decisions. There is a saying that goes

"Prevention is better than cure," this means that controlling these bad habits by adolescents is better

than nursing the injuries.

Lastly, I would like to argue that, when the poet says "Other children write their names on

the casts that hold his small bones" he tries to mean that, even after "rotting" according to adults,

other adolescents see a great achievement to the affected one. And still, boast that is being

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enlightened and "digitalized" that is seen in them claiming that the change is seen just because of

their efforts. This paragraph is trying to bring the idea that, what drive the adolescents most is their

peers and not guidance and counseling done to them. All the same, it means adolescents listen to

their peers only, and that is why it is evident that they break their legs while sleeping as the child

being talked about in the poem. These paragraphs also create the atmosphere of sympathy

altogether due to the fact that, they do not do the things by themselves but it is because they are

not conscious.

In conclusion, the poem encapsulates the things done by adolescents because of their

unconsciousness. How repairable they destroy their lives and the weak foundation built at this

stage. In turn, the overall mood of the poem, is sympathy due to the jargon of unconsciousness,

here the big challenge in this stage is; peer pressure and ignorance, hence it is advisable, once a

child is in this stage, his or her parents should be so close to them so that their children can feel

free to give them a hint of what next that is in mind. This will help them have an opportunity for

them to be the best counselor to their youths.

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The Child Who Walks Backwards by Lorna Crozier

The Child Who Walks Backwards by Lorna Crozier My next door neighbor tells me her child runs into

things. Cupboard corners and doorknobs have pounded their shapes into his face. She says he is bothered

by dreams, rises in sleep from his bed to steal through the halls and plummet like a wounded bird down

the flight of stairs. This child who climbed my maple with the sureness of a cat, trips in his room, cracks

his skull on the bedpost, smacks his cheeks on the floor. When I ask about the burns on the back of his

knee, his mother tells me he walks backwards into fireplace grates or sits and stares at flames while sparks

burn stars in his skin. Other children write their names on the casts that hold his small bones. His mother

tells me he runs into things, walks backwards, and breaks his leg while she lies sleeping.

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