Mia Quaranta chose abandonment as the theme for her poem, it connects with Bradbury’s short story theme, how we are losing relationships with each other, and the negative impacts it can have.
Her poem is about a person who is suffering from losing a loved one, but not from death. Just how the kids were abandoned by their own parents. The kids are not at fault, they were taught to depend on and love the nursery, the technology, the house, more than their parents.
Another connection is that the protagonist in Mia’s poem is trying to overcome their sadness, using different methods, as the kids, although it does not work. The protagonist uses denial when they say, “the wounded creature I know has died.” Meaning that they are no longer affected by their abandonment, which is not true. They find some acceptance when they say, “I realize I can’t be saved.” And finally, fear, when they say, “Shaking I, I desperately reach light.” The methods the kids use are similar. They deal with their loss of loving parents by denial, anger, illusions (the nursery) and manipulation. They tell themselves they are happy loving family as long as the nursery stays on. When that changes and the nursery is about to get shut down, the kids realize they feel nothing for their parents, not even empathy. Both the character in Mia’s poem and the kids in Bradbury’s story use similar methods of dealing with abandonment.
Mia used poetic devices such as metaphors. One of the metaphors she used was “My head drops with blood.” The character is not literally bleeding, but they are filled with such pain, from all their thoughts and memories, they feel as if their head was dripping with blood.
Another metaphor she used was “The wounded creature I know has died.” When the protagonist talks about the wounded creature, they are referring to themselves. Also, they are not literally dying or a wounded creature, they show the reader how they see themselves. Weak, pathetic, lonely. When they say the creature has died, they are trying to convince themselves that they aren’t the person they used to be, that they are okay, and that they have moved on. Really, they are lying to themselves.
Another poetic device Mia Quaranta used, was personification. When the protagonist said, “My feet run away to her.” The words Mia chose made it sound like the feet have a mind of its own. It gave it human characteristics such as thinking for themselves and running.
Mia Quaranta also used sound devices, like repetition. The protagonist said, “I, I desperately reach light.” They repeated “I” twice because it represents hesitation, as they are trying to move on from the heartbreak. However, they are still so attached to the other person, making it hard to let go, therefore showing hesitation.
As for the visual imagery, Mia drew a person walking alone in the darkness towards an exit. This represents her theme of abandonment which also connects to Bradburys story. For example, the darkness all around represents negative emotions, like sadness, fear, anger, loneliness after we are abandoned. The person walking alone represents solitude. The moon represents hope, and the door at the end represents finally letting them go, and moving on.