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There is no way a 5 year old wrote this poem: The burden of myself Has grown impossible to bear Although rather than slip further Down this mountain of desp
by blantonl 5y ago
There is no way a 5 year old wrote this poem:
The burden of myself
Has grown impossible to bear
Although rather than slip further
Down this mountain of despair
I will simply cry for help
And hope an angel hears my plea
Or I’ll not survive much longer
And succumb to misery.
- tediousdemise 5y agoI had the same reaction, but then I remembered that child prodigies do exist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_child_prodigies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_child_prodigies
- wizzard 5y agoIt's not strictly impossible, but it's highly improbable. If she was capable of writing that at 5 her whole life would have been on a different trajectory.
- imoverclocked 5y agoNot necessarily. Bright people are often unhappy/depressed/etc and then lack the appropriate resources to succeed.
- hchz 5y agoSylvia Plath was publishing complex poetry at 8 and was already showing the intense and dark themes she's become an icon for at 14. If you haven't dealt with what Plath or this woman has, or are some credentialed authority on early childhood development of exceptional children (or poetry), I can't understand why your speculation on this is worth listening to.
- brandonmenc 5y ago8 and 14 are not 5, and I'm also skeptical, but also not an expert in any of these areas. For comparison, here is the "complex poetry" Plath had published at age 8 (titled simply, "Poem"): "Hear the crickets chirping In the dewy grass. Bright little fireflies Twinkle as they pass."
- MeinBlutIstBlau 5y agoI agree a noticed that too. Even excellent kids in kindergarten with me could barely read and write, let alone make something of that quality.