10

My daughter (11) chose this poem to take to school and present to her class:

Sometimes when I'm alone I cry because I'm on my own
The tears are bitter and warm
They flow with life, but take no form, I cry because my heart is torn.
I find it difficult to carry on. If I had an ear to confide in, I would cry among my treasured friend
But who do you know that stops that long, to help another carry on
The world moves fast and it would rather pass by
Than to stop and see what makes one cry, so painful and sad
And sometimes I cry and no one cares about why.

When her grandparent asked her if she felt like that, she said no, she just liked it. Should I say something to her? If so, what?

Improve this question
3
  • 1
    When one of my daughters became interested in sad poems (she loves Rilke), she was a bit older and in the fierce grip of the emotional hazards of the teenage years. I can understand your concern, but given that you write nothing about your daughter except that she's 11 and has grandparents, it's difficult for us to come up with any meaningful advice.
    – sbi
    Commented Mar 1, 2016 at 12:47
  • 2
    I doubt liking a morose poem reflects one's own emotions any more than liking Batman reflects one's willingness to abandon social expectations, beat people to bloody meat and destroy other people's property with no known restitution. If she says she just likes it I'd be happy she's taken an interest in something that's not facebook or twitter
    – Kai Qing
    Commented Mar 1, 2016 at 21:06
  • The answer to the question, "What makes you like it?", could be quite useful in determining if she is liking it because of its quality or because of empathizing with its message -- the true question you have, after all.
    – Sylas Seabrook
    Commented Mar 12, 2016 at 3:58

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
11

A person can be moved, or touched by a poem without necessarily sharing the feelings expressed therein.

I don't think you need to be concerned if your daughter is otherwise doing fine.

Your daughter is perhaps just a very thoughtful, empathetic type of person. This is a good thing.

Improve this answer
1
  • 1
    +1 I actually liked the poem, too - and I never cry from loneliness.
    – DadOfTwo
    Commented Mar 4, 2016 at 10:47

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .