21st Literature Masterpieces (Personal)

"The Lowered Age of Criminal Liability Through the Eyes of a Child"

I heard shrill screams resonating from a nearby street

The screams of both a mother and a father; though they were promptly forced to be discreet

"He didn't know any better!", I heard them cry.

"Then he shouldn't have taken the letter", the Officer taunted, all cunning and sly.

As they dragged the child off to the center,

I couldn't help but wonder:

How can a child be charged with criminal liability?

When he can barely lift a box with the best of his ability?

The child looked around with fear in his eyes

Probably wondering if what was happening was all folly and lies.

Is this how easy it is?

To lose most of your life to some snake's devilish hiss?

NEW PERSPECTIVE:

They threw me into a cell,

Where I was, it was so dark that I couldn't even tell.

Father always told me "Don't talk to strangers",

But here I am: In an unsafe place with unfamiliar faces and danger.

I don't even remember what happened.

One moment I was running an errand, the next, with a handcuff was fastened.

My parents fought for my innocence,

But in my shock, their words made no sense.

After a while, they told us up to get up

To form a line, with a distance from one another that can only be passed through by a small cup

They then led us out into a courtyard,

Faced with a warden; giving us all a look so frozen and hard.

We were then locked in a room,

All alone; wondering of what was to come of my impending doom.

In my solitude, in my isolation

I feared that my mental health was headed towards desolation.

Though I was young and lacking in education, I knew I had my rights.

Some speak of a united nation, an organization with a governing might.

But I knew, that even if we were set free by that organization,

We would be faced with unfathomable discrimination.

Father, Mother, I'm sorry.

I don't want to make you worry.

Soon, HIS term'll be over.

And I'll be able to once again play with my sister and brother.

Though I may not know what's going on out there,

One day, we'll play again in the open air.

Concept Context: This short poem speaks through the perspective of a young child, a child accused of being guilty for a crime he did not commit. In this historiographic metafiction, the age of criminal liability has been lowered to the ripe age of 13; an age when the minds of the children have not developed fully. Furthermore, the convicted children are promptly sent to ill-fitted jail cells, where they are to spend their sentences in solitude and isolation.