My daughters poem, Can anyone help me decode it?

Question

My 11 year old daughter wrote a poem and put it on my bed, here it is
"The Table"
I sit with my friends during lunch but 5 get up and leave the bunch
They sit at a table in a diffrent grade, no one notices, they all look the same
we sit and enjoy lunch and time goes bye, slowly some more go and no left are only 9
Slowly they leave, and 2 are left,Me and my best friend Beth
Then it happens, she leaves me now, now its the table, me and my head hanging down
I knew it would happen I knew all along, but down in my heart, I hoped my life wouldent sing this song
I look at my friends and think of the past, the mud baking days that seemed they would forever last.
Now they are gone and so are my friends, So I wait here till my endless lunch, finnally,comes to an end

Answer 1

First off, it's beautiful. she is very talented.

maybe talented and smart enough to understand or have already figured out that she is different from the other girls ( no one notices, they all look the same)

the people she has been hanging out with are not the friends she wants or needs in her life (hoping her life wouldn't sing this song....)

those friends she has outgrown, she is wise beyond her years if you ask me, all my friends were older when i was in school...(I look at my friends and think of the past, the mud baking days that seemed they would forever last)

but those days are gone. she isn't interested in mud pies or those same old girls and those girls ideas or opinions anymore. she is coming into her own, learning to think for herself, sucking up the life around around her.

it makes her sad, being lonely and confused right now, those girls are probably giving her a hard time because she has changed and they haven't (Now they are gone and so are my friends, So I wait here till my endless lunch, finally,comes to an end).

just be patient with her.....she is going to be somebody special, thinking this way at 11? wow. she'll find the friends she needs.

you might want to share this with her....

When you come to the edge of all the light you know,
and are about to step off into the darkness of the unknown,
faith is knowing one of two things will happen:
There will be something solid to stand on,
or you will be taught how to fly.
Barbara J. Winter

hope i helped.....

Answer 2

My two Cents:

I think putting it on your bed is pretty signifigant, it is a very intimate place to leave a piece of paper. It must be very serious to her. I don't think this is something she feels lightly about.

"The Table" : I think the name even has some meaning. Tables are used for gatherings in our culture. What do they mean in your family? Do you typically eat meals together? Weather you do may effect the meaning of the table in the poem.

In the first part of the poem 5 "friends" get up and leave. It sounds like their was a pretty bad break up, for a whole group to leave like that.

But why does "no one notice". Are they playing it cool, but really care? Or are they uncaring people? I would think if they were mad, the poem might say something like "releived" or the like. But the choice of words makes the reaction seem so tepid.

Slowly more leave, not a dramatic exodus, and not mentioned as "one by one" either. Again a very tepid trickle of people leaving.

Then she mentions someone by name and rank, "Best friend Beth" This is quite a betrayal when Beth leaves, but it is something she has been predicting, but she hoped it wouldn't go that way.

She looks back into the past, but I don't think she is longing for childhood. The whole rest of the poem was about people. This is longing for relationships that are dead or dying.

The ending is a little troubling, talking about her lunch comming to an end. I hope her despair is not too heavy.

Honestly if it was my child I would consider:
1. She left the note on your bed.
2. She talks about losing her best friend.
3. She mentions her "lunch" comming to an end.
4. You are worried enough to ask for some help understanding it

I would definitly be concerned she could have some depression. You need to talk to her and ask if she has thought about hurting herself because she is upset about this. Most children won't lie if asked straight up.

Even if she says no, still take time to talk to her about the poem. At very least it seems like she might be moarning for the deaths of some friendships. Which is a very real death. Tell her it is okay to be sad. This happens to adults too. It is a sign she is getting to be a grown up now. And see if you can get her talking and try to just listen.

Good luck.

Answer 3

She's nostalgic and mourning an end to her childhood -- and she finds it saddening.

Check and see if your daughter has friends. Check and see if her friends started their periods and your daughter hasn't.

I find several things about the poem troubling:
1. Friends left, but no new ones came to sit down (and your daughter didn't go sit with some other group).
2. Your daughter misses the days when life was a little simpler, and simple things were fun. It's as if she hasn't found new ways to have fun.
3. Your daughter is seeing an end to her lunch.
4. Your daughter left the poem on your bed. With (3) above, this seems like a cry for help. It's time for you to ask her to tell you about what's going on in her world.

Answer 4

How sad :(.

Her friends are drifting towards the older crowd...they want to be like them, older and more sophisticated. By remaining at their old table, they are remaining as young girls, which your daughter referenced with the baking mud pies that they all used to do. It sounds as if your daughter is a later bloomer. She's on the brink of puberty but from the poem it sounds like she hasn't made it yet, maybe she looks younger than everyone else. It might be that she FEELS younger, like not ready to grow up as fast as them yet. It sounds like the girls that her friends went to must be 12 or 13 already and starting to look like young women. Poor baby, her lunch felt like a lifetime because she had no one to talk to. She felt nude and abandoned. :(

She did a wonderful poem. Very poignant, yet so sad because so true. She did a very good thing, letting you know what's going on in her life right now. She's sharing it with you, and sometimes that's hard for adolecents to do. Sit down with her and talk about it if she wants, and reassure her that things will get better for her if it is something that's really bothering her.

Answer 5

It seems to me that she is feeling depressed. Some times in our kids life they need to feel that they are always needed and wanted. Perhaps she is going through a hard time and she knows that her best friend has always been there for her but her friend is wanting to "hang" with some others for a while. This can be a difficult stage and she will need all the love and support she can get from you with out being questioned to death. Let her come to you with the questions. Still, be there to encourage her in all that she does. Perhaps even let a chore go by.

Answer 6

Well, i kind of suck at decoding poems but it just to me speaks sadness. Like lonliness. As if she had many friends but in the head she was left alone or got lost in shuffle. Or that she's growing up and experiencing new things and growing apart from her friends because she's finding life to be hard and she remembers the good old days where you didn't have to worry much about anything. That's my perspective. I like to write poetry but a lot of times its hard for me to decode most poems. This is just my opinion remember that.

Answer 7

The middle school/adolescent drama has begun as it always inevitably does at this stage in life. She has to good sense to expect it, respond to it and express her deep feelings about it. At least she is no follower, but a wise little observer. She'll find her place. Just tell her to keep up the good work of being herself. She's a very smart, introspective kid! Go to BORDERS and let her pick out a journal!! Lucky you.

Answer 8

Sounds like she wants you to know things are not going well for her socially.She obviously wants you to know,but maybe it was a little embarrassing for her to tell you person to person.This is obviously making her very sad.I would suggest you ask her exactly what's happening because kids can be very cruel.Maybe you could call Beth's mom and ask if she's heard anything about this.

Answer 9

She fears that her friends are going to forget/abandon her in their quest to look and act older (which many girls start around 11 or 12) and the fact that she doesn't hold the same values causes her to think she will end up all alone.

Answer 10

I think she is feeling lonely and left out. Other kids are trying to fit in with other groups, and in the process she is being shunned.

I think you should ask you daughter to read the poem to you and ask her how her poem makes her feel. Maybe let her know how this makes you feel. She is definately trying to reach out to you. You need to make an opportunity to open up.