Perks of Being a Wallflower: Poem analysis

In the book Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky, The main character at one point reads this poem for his friends. 

"Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines

he wrote a poem

And he called it "Chops"
because that was the name of his dog
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and a gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his aunts
That was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo
And he let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born
with tiny toenails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X's
and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him in bed at night
And was always there to do it

Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn"
because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of its new paint
And the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left butts on the pews
And sometimes they would burn holes
That was the year his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl around the corner laughed
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad
when he cried for him to do it.

Once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because that was the question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his professor gave him an A
and a strange steady look
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
That was the year that Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end
of the Apostle's Creed went
And he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
And his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
And the girl around the corner
wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her
but he kissed her anyway
because that was the thing to do
And at three a.m. he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly

That's why on the back of a brown paper bag
he tried another poem
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
Because that's what it was really all about
And he gave himself an A
and a slash on each damned wrist
And he hung it on the bathroom door
because this time he didn't think
he could reach the kitchen."

In the book when Charlie read his poem I was very touched. It sounds cheesy but its true, the poem made me think to no end. The poem, if you haven't read it has four parts. The first part started "Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines he wrote a poem And he called it 'Chops'" the first part continued showing his perfect early life, with his A and his uncle bringing him to the zoo. The next section started the same way just this time it was named autumn (because that was the season and that was what it was all about). The section then followed with  the boys life and how it slowly got worse, and his uncle smoked cigars and his sister needed glasses.

The last two sections needed a new paragraph because thats how much they change. In the 3rd section It starts normally but this time it was written on a torn piece of notebook paper with the name "Innocence: a question" because that was the question about his girl, and that was what it all about. the section continued explaining how   his life has gone down hill. his sister has a boyfriend and his uncle has died and he cant confront his mother about a poem. From this section it moves to the second where a death letter is written on a paper bag and he couldn't show it to his mom because he died before he got there. 

This poem is so screwed up yet so relatable, its about growing up and adapting. At first the family is perfect and the mom is loving as he grows up slowly he realizes this is false. By the end he is so drained out from all the childhood lies that he puts an end to his life. 

The theme of child hood lies and realization connects to the Book because charlie in the book is realizing the same things. I think the poem in its depressing vibe brings out the golden stuff in Charlie's life. In a way this is Charlie, he has a dead uncle (instead of aunt) a grown up sister less connected family and a hand full of lies. However there is a twist Charlie in the book has friends to rely on and from those friends he is stopped from killing him self in a way. 

Friendship is a huge theme in this book, all people go through the same life changes once and a while and having someone there to help you through them can sometimes be the most important thing ever.