The Loner is one that keeps to himself and thus feels shy to go ahead and mingle with the others freely. He seems desperate for a friend as he comes down to the playground everyday despite the shunning.
‘He leans against the playground wall,
Smacks his hands against the bricks’
This may be so because he may be having personal problems. He may need someone to make him feel better and help him forget his sorrows. Since no one seems to notice him, he resorts to the wall. Why does he smack it then? He may be doing so to let go of his sorrow. Smacking the wall repeatedly may be making him feel better. Perhaps he may be trying to attract attention from the children. Then, he may get a chance to play and be happy like the other children. If only he had been a bit more sociable, his wish would have come true.
The children are lost in their own world called the playground. They are so deep inside it that they are oblivious to the fact that there is a little boy standing there against the wall every day, longing to be one of them. The children are happy as they are able to solve their problems almost instantly. However, they do not realize that the loner has problems fitting in and that he doesn’t know how to solve them.
‘Each in our familiar clique
We pass him by and never speak’
They refuse to accept him into their cliques due to the fact that they think that since he doesn’t utter a word, he would be of no fun. They don’t even bother to look at him. This shows that the children have no sympathy for the boy and that they’re coldhearted. They really should give him a chance and show him that the world is much more than just a wall.
