The Ball Poem Analysis

What is the boy now, who has lost his ball,
What, what is he to do?  I saw it go
Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over—there it is in the water!
No use to say 'O there are other balls':
An ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy
As he stands rigid, trembling, staring down
All his young days into the harbour where
His ball went.  I would not intrude on him,
A dime, another ball, is worthless.  Now
He senses first responsibility
In a world of possessions.  People will take balls,
Balls will be lost always, little boy,
And no one buys a ball back.  Money is external.
He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes,
The epistemology of loss, how to stand up
Knowing what every man must one day know
And most know many days, how to stand up
And gradually light returns to the street
A whistle blows, the ball is out of sight,
Soon part of me will explore the deep and dark
Floor of the harbour . . I am everywhere,
I suffer and move, my mind and my heart move
With all that move me, under the water
Or whistling, I am not a little boy.

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Two imp. lessons to be learnt from this poem: Take care and responsibility of even the smallest thing you have (everything has its own value); and how to cope up with loss because some losses are inevitable.

| Posted on 2009-08-09 | by a guest

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The boy has discovered... at last it is seen. The true meaning of this poem.

| Posted on 2008-11-05 | by a guest

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I see something called maturity. The boy is evolving like a pokemon, a beautiful pokemon, like a butterfry. The boy is becoming one with his childhood while growing up. Like the samurai ninja. This is shown when the poet writes "Soon part of me will explore the deep and dark".

| Posted on 2008-11-05 | by a guest

.: analysis. :.

i see it about childhood.
losing the ball unexpectedly, loosing childhood unexpectedly.
having to care for yourself after your childhood flew by.

| Posted on 2008-05-11 | by a guest

.: analysis. :.

i see it about childhood.
losing the ball unexpectadly, loosing childhood unexpectadly.
having to care for yourself after your childhood flew by.

| Posted on 2008-05-11 | by a guest