Little boy Crying by Mervyn Morris

Mervyn Morris is a Jamaican writer, poet, and educator. He is one of the first
academics to adopt the importance of nation language in helping to define
important aspects of Jamaican culture.

POEM
Your mouth contorting in brief spite and hurt,

your laughter metamorphosed into howls,

your frame so recently relaxed now tight

with three year old frustration, your bright eyes

swimming tears, splashing your bare feet,

you stand there angling for a moment’s hint

of guilt or sorrow for the quick slap struck.

The ogre towers above you, that grim giant,

empty of feeling, a colossal cruel,

soon victim of the tale’s conclusion, dead

at last. You hate him, you imagine

chopping clean the tree he’s scrambling down

or plotting deeper pits to trap him in.

You cannot understand, not yet,

the hurt your easy tears can scald him with,

nor guess the wavering hidden behind that mask.

This fierce man longs to lift you, curb your sadness

with piggy-back or bull fight, anything,

but dare not ruin the lessons you should learn.

You must not make a plaything of the rain.

Summary/Analysis

• The poem examines the complex range of emotions taking place between a father and his
three-year-old son who has been spanked for playing in the rain.

• The perspectives of both father and son are presented showing how each person responds
to the act of discipline- the child with tearful resentment, the father with deep sadness.

Themes

1. A childhood - the child perceives the world with limited discernment (good
judgement) and want to indulge his desire to play in the rain without thought of
possible consequences, typical of children. The consequences of this immediate
gratification seem to be part of the lessons that the father wishes to teach.

2. Discipline/crime and punishment - Discipline is part of the job of parenting and the
father knows the necessity of disciplining his son. If he is to learn life lesson
beginning with the most basic ones like not playing in the rain. Discipline is examined
as form of “tough love” that causes pain to both parent and child.

3. Time/innocence and experience- the stage of life begin with the childish innocence
of the little boy whose view of the world is of it as a place to play or be entertained
with stories and imaginary exploits. The adult's maturity that is able to disarm danger
contrast with the naivety (lack of wisdom). The adult recognizes that there are
consequences to the action while the child thinks only of the immediate gratification
of his impulses.

Poetic Techniques

Form

The poem uses free verse and forces its attention on specific words to add fearfulness and
different layers of meaning. E.g. The use of “tight” at the break of the line gives an
impression of the tenseness of the child.

Tone

The tone is sympathetic, reflective and tinged with humour when the child is thinking of fairy
tale way to slay his ogre father.
Mood

The mood is philosophical as the poem had one to contemplate the nature of parenting and
often unpleasant disciplinary task it involves.

Language

Alliteration - “grim giant” and “colossal cruel”, emphasizes the forceful tone in which the
child expresses his anger and contribute to the sound effects of the poem.

Contrast - the child’s world contrast with the adult world and his difference is presented in
the perception of the child, his reaction to his world and his physical size in relation to his
father.

Imagery - the image of the first line “Your mouth contorting in brief spite and hurt” and
“Bright eyes, swimming tears” helps us to identify with the pitiful images the child is
presenting.