Sad child

You're sad because you're sad.It's psychic. It's the age. It's chemical.Go see a shrink or take a pill,or hug your sadness like an eyeless dollyou need to sleep.Well, all children are sadbut some get over it.Count your blessings. Better than that,buy a hat. Buy a coat or pet.Take up dancing to forget.Forget what?Your sadness, your shadow,whatever it was that was done to youthe day of the lawn partywhen you came inside flushed with the sun,your mouth sulky with sugar,in your new dress with the ribbonand the ice-cream smear,and said to yourself in the bathroom,I am not the favorite child.My darling, when it comesright down to itand the light fails and the fog rolls inand you're trapped in your overturned bodyunder a blanket or burning car,and the red flame is seeping out of youand igniting the tarmac beside you heador else the floor, or else the pillow,none of us is;or else we all are.



In Margret Atwood's "A Sad Child" Atwood uses imagery in the form of events to show the coming of women hood and all that is associated with it. She uses this, particularly in the second stanza and forth to show youth along with the emotions which go along with this new experience.
The first instance of the coming of women is the effect of Menstruation on this child. The author offers suggestion for the child's mood (sad) in which the author states " It;s Physic. It's the age It's chemical" Along with the reason for the mood the author offers suggestions such as "you need sleep" The author's tone seems understanding and also knowledge able of it.
A such image of a child figure exposed to women hood is seen in the third stanza. Atwood writes "the day of the lawn party, your mouth sulky with sugar" Here Atwood describes the implications of the child's first experience with menstruation. The mouth with sugar, along with "ice cream smear" represent the child like show the true youth of the sad child.
Atwood uses the Child like imagery above to show youth, while Atwood's forth stanza states "you're trapped in you over turned body.. or burning car" Atwood uses this to show the deep emotion of fear pain and uncertainty of a young women's first experience