CHILDHOOD 261

Stanza2:
When did my childhood go ?
Was it the time I realised that adults were not
All they seemed to be,
They talked of love and preached of love
But did not act so
lovingly,
Was that the day!

Explanation that the adults around him did

not practise what
In thesecond stanza, the poet recalls the time when he realised
themselves argumentative, volent
and caring, however, they were
they preached. They told the poet to be loving and advocated so
reverenty
and discourteous. Their behaviour was a far cry
from the love they sermonised about
to the child. trusted without question. Their latent
adults around him, whom he had so far,
Thus, the child lost his faith in the
steps
one of the major
Natten, that broken trust was
the growing child. Perhaps, says
hypocrisy became evident to
to use
towards adulthood. punctuation
the Markus Natten is a genius at putting
line of poem. the child
Notice that, this is perhaps the longest indicates that this is perhaps
the biggest loss
to recite it in one go,
The length of this line and the difficulty
has suffered.

Stanza 3
When did my childhood go?
mind was really mine,
Was it when I found my
I choose,
To use whichever way other people
that were not those of
Producing thoughts
But my own and mine alone
Was that the day!
and could take its
own
Explanation: could form its own opinions
realised that his
mind was unique, of others around
the poet from the prejudiced opinions
As he grew up, of individuality
which set him free the time he lost his
this might have been
and he realised that
sense
decisions. He gained a
now
experiences shaped his thoughts
him. His o w n
childhood innocence completely.

4
d my childhood go?
place,
OSomeforgotten
infanf's face,
nidden in
an

all1know. childhood.
time, he had lost his
lanation: at what point in
his question. From wondering
changes
hefinalstanza, the poet
where it went.

epoet now
wonders
in two ways. He recalls his infancy and
maybeinterpreted than long lost memory. resurface in this
helast threelines
a
nothing more
innocence cannot
childhood is and that
claims in that infant's face,
(a) The poet
believes that hi 100dresides
there,
become the
for him but has
more than a memory
travels to another,
lifetime. become nothing person, it
schildhood has which lost from
one
childhood,
The poet h cyclical process relive their o w n
(b) ant. Innocenceis a c a n easily recall and s e e m to almost
reality o Thus,till adults
date,