0
Anonymous Posted 13 years ago

Poetry Recital

Hi everyone, I need a little help with my poetry recital! It's Missing by Alfian Sa'at. Just wondering, what are some of the considerations i must have when reciting this poem? How do i embody this speaker's persona into my performance? Somehow i just manage sound extremely stiff and horrid. Thank you! It's below:

Missing by Alfian Sa'at
He go to school.
Never come back.
I make police report.
Newspaper, Crime Watch.
They even put his picture,
He and the other boy,
On poster, with reward
From fast-food restaurant.

I ask from the RC man:
Can I have it from the
Lift lobby noticeboard.
He give me and also say sorry.
I have it in my bedroom.
Every morning with half-
Open eyes I remind myself
My son: the one on the left.

Got calls come in once.
Say they saw him in
Penang, selling videos.
Or in Bangkok, begging.
Child prostitute they say.
Sometimes no voice at all.
Hello? Hello? Who is this?
I am your son. Then hang up.

So many things to remember.
His school is still there.
I walk to it sometimes;
Pretend I am him.
Praying come kidnap me
Take me away now.
Got one artist try to draw
My son's grown-up face.

I ask him draw one
For every year. He say cannot.
Got one time I was on TV.
Crying, with schoolbag on my lap.
Keep saying, good boy, always help me
Do housework. Now I say let me
Do the housework. Let me wake up
To the mess he left behind.
  

Top answer

Hi For me, it is like a person drowning. In each verse, the speaker manages to put her head above the waves but, by the last line of each verse, she is sinking again At the last line, it is difficult: does the mother blame her son for walking out - or blame herself? Maybe she sees some hope for her life, but it's not clear ...

  • Hi For me, it is like a person drowning.
  • In each verse, the speaker manages to put her head above the waves but, by the last line of each verse, she is sinking again At the last line, it is difficult: does the mother blame her son for walking out - or blame herself?
  • Maybe she sees some hope for her life, but it's not clear ...
  • Dave
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

2 Answers
0
Hi

For me, it is like a person drowning. In each verse, the speaker manages to put her head above the waves but, by the last line of each verse, she is sinking again

At the last line, it is difficult: does the mother blame her son for walking out - or blame herself? Maybe she sees some hope for her life, but it's not clear ...

Dave

Related Questions