SUMMARY

STANZA 1

The poet thinks about when his childhood came to an

end. He is Inquisitive to know if it was the day he
stopped being or was no longer eleven years old. He
feels it was perhaps that day when he uncovered the
theories of Heaven and Hell and that Geography did
not provide him any information about the existence
of such a place. Education and rational thinking has
made him realize that they are Imaginary places that
actually do not exist in this world. At this stage, the
poet has probably lost his childhood
STANZA 2

In this stanza, the poet again repeats the same

question. He thought that he lost his childhood on
seeing the world with a new perception where adults
are hypocrites and are not how they seemed to be.
They taught others to be loving and caring when they
themselves were violent and mean. This is when the
child lost his trust and faith in the adults. The poet
realizes that probably the loss of faith and trust might
have been the major steps towards losing his
childhood.
STANZA 3

Continuing the same question he wonders about the

day he realized that his mind was his own and could
use it the way he wants. His own opinions and
thoughts have earned him individuality free from the
biased notions of others. The poet realizes that
probably the sense of his own individuality and a
separate personality might have been the major steps
towards losing his childhood.
STANZA 4

the last stanza, the poet concludes that his childhood

had gone to some forgotten place which will never
come back. He cherished his innocence which
vanished now and could be only seen in a baby's face.
He only has sweet memories of his childhood which
would soon fade away. The last lines can be
interpreted as that childhood is a lost memory.