The Boy Who Lived

 This poem was part of my final project for my poetry writing course while I was in college. With this piece I wrote, I chose the template of the Hermit Crab poem, and I focused around specifically on the unifying theme of Death as I delved into the story of Harry Potter, starting from the year he turned one, to diving into all his seven years at Hogwarts, where he was constantly staring Death in the face as he prepared for the inevitable of what would happen. 

The Boy Who Lived

1. He was a year old when

a.) His parents were betrayed by a friend

b.) He first cheated Death through an act of love

c.) His forehead was carved with a bolt of lightning 

2. He was eleven years old when

a.) He talked to a snake at the zoo   

b.) He received a Deathly Hallow for Christmas – a cloak of invisibility

c.) He faced his parents’ murderer 

3. He was twelve years old when

a.) He spoke to a snake once more 

b.) He unsheathed a sword from an old hat

c.) He abolished a piece of You Know Who’s soul

4.) He was thirteen years old when

a.) He saw the Grimm – an omen of Death

b.) He was nearly Kissed 

c.) He met Padfoot and set Buckbeak free 

5.) He was fourteen years old when 

a.) He competed threefold in the Tournament 

b.) He met Death when a friend was murdered

c.) He met the ghosts of his parents and those whose lives were unjustly stolen

6.) He was fifteen years old when

a.) He looked through the eye of the snake

b.) He started a rebellion

c.) He heard his destiny . . . that someone’s fate would end in Death

7.) He was sixteen years old when

a.) He found his true love

b.) He dueled the Half-Blood Prince

c.) He witnessed Death once more

8.) He was seventeen years old when

a.) He became "Undesirable Number One"

b.) He saw the Silver Doe in the wood 

c.) He greeted Death like an old friend