Once
on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he
wrote a poem
And
called it "Chops" Because that was the name of his dog
And
that's what it was all about
And
his teacher gave him an A
and
a gold star
And
his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and
read it to his aunts
That
was the year Father Tracy
took
all the kids to the zoo
And
he let them sing on the bus
And
his little sister was born
with
tiny toenails and no hair
And
his mother and father kissed a lot
And
the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine
signed with a row of X's
and
he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And
his father always tucked him in bed at night
And
was always there to do it
Once
on a piece of white paper with blue lines
he
wrote a poem
And
he called it "Autumn"
because
that was the name of the season
And
that's what it was all about
And
his teacher gave him an A
and
asked him to write more clearly
And
his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because
of its new paint
And
the kids told him
that
Father Tracy smoked cigars
and
left butts on the pews
And
sometimes they would burn holes
That
was the year his sister got glasses
with
thick lenses and black frames
And
the girl around the corner laughed
when
he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And
the kids told him why
his
mother and father kissed a lot
And
his father never tucked him in bed at night
And
his father got mad
when
he cried for him to do it
Once
on a paper torn from his notebook
he
wrote a poem
And
he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because
that was the question about his girl
And
that's what it was all about
And
his professor gave him an A
and
a strange steady look
And
his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because
he never showed her
That
was the year that Father Tracy died
And
he forgot how the end
of
the Apostle's Creed went
And
he caught his sister
making
out on the back porch
And
his mother and father never kissed
or
even talked
And
the girl around the corner
wore
too much makeup
That
made him cough when he kissed her
but
he kissed her anyway
because
that was the thing to do
And
at three A.M. he tucked himself into bed
his
father snoring soundly
That's
why on the back of a brown paper bag
he
tried another poem
And
he called it "Absolutely Nothing" Because that's what it was really
all about
And
he gave himself an A
and
a slash on each damned wrist
And
he hung it on the bathroom door
because
this time he didn't think
he
could reach the kitchen
The
first time that I read this poem was in Perks
of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky; it really struck me something
within me, and has stayed with me ever since. Not only does the clearly dark
theme of the poem move me, but the style and way it is written draws me in every
time I read it. Each stanza starting with “Once on a piece of paper” or
something very similar and seeing the slow progression of the narrator’s life
and emotions throughout their poems really hits once you reach the last and
realize that the development of the kids life and thoughts has ended in his
suicide. He manages to tell the story of not only himself but the relationship
of his parents, the girl around the corner, and Father Tracy and his sister,
while making a connection with everyone in his poem by showing how they all are
coping with their own struggles as time passes.
