to be upset about my son's poem?

[whoisasking]

OK, been divorced for 5 years. My ex has access each week, each Sunday for 6 hours on a Sunday. He has a new GF and baby aged 3.

ANYWAY.

my 12 year old son wrote a poem this week for English Lit titled "NOISE!"

"The boom of a cannon, the bang of a gun,
The shouts of a father telling off his son..."

etc etc.

I feel wretched. I keep ignoring the situation to certain extent. I don't want to be the mum who stops the children from seeing their dad, but this has come us a real wake up call. His "Stepmother" is awful to him. I KNOW this and I avoid it in order to keep the peace. I hate myself so much right now.

I can think of no solution that doesn't involve me growing a pair and telling him to fuck off.

[HerBeatitudeLittleBella]

I think you should ask your son first before you decide anything. At 12, I think he's old enough to say whether he wants to go and see his dad.

[MaryMotherOfCheeses]

Have you talked to your son about it? Does he want to see his dad each weekeend, or would he rather be doing something else?

[Overmydeadbody]

maybe it's just a poem?

[Noonki]

Has he ever said anything to you?

How do you know his stepmother is a awful to him?

[edam]

Sounds like a promising start to a poem. Impossible for anyone who doesn't know your son to judge whether it is actually expressing his emotions about his father... but clearly it's ringing alarm bells for you.

What is it about the way his father and stepmother treat him that worries you?

[babymama31]

Don't allow your son to be intimidated by anyone, if you have the power to stop it. My fathers wife bullied me for years as a child and I found it hard to articulate to my mother, I wish my mother had ended the contact. I have no contact with my Dad now, so it was a waste of time and at 12 kids are so emotional and vunerable....

hope you find the right answer to you concern hun

[sleepymaud]

This is a fairly standard English task based on a poem by Jessie Pope, which is called 'I like noise'. It's all about positive noise and often you'd ask students to rewrite as a negative poem.

I think the main issue here is that you feel that this has highlighted a problem and it gives you the perfect opportunity to talk about it...

Noise by Jessie Pope

I like noise.
The whoop of a boy, the thud of a hoof,
The rattle of rain on a galvanised roof,
The hubbub of traffic, the roar of a train,
The throb of machinery numbing the brain,
The rush of the wind, a door on the slam,
The switching of wires in an overhead tram,
The boom of the thunder, the crash of the waves,
The din of a river that races and raves,
The crack of a rifle, the clank of a pail,
The strident tattoo of a swift-slapping sail ?
Arises a gamut of soul-stirring joys,
I like noise.

[Onestonetogo]

Message withdrawn

[purpleduck]

First, talk to your son. If YOU know that the stepmum is being awful, and HE knows it, then is it not the elephant in the room?

Perhaps he could get some counselling?

Also, could you not show his father?