a poem I wrote for a friend:
Eternal-lasting minds create
an image of the timeless youth.
They father homes of slides and gates;
I wonder if I can give truth.
To be carefree as I was here
— the dream they told me I would paint.
I used to be deaf but now I can hear:
The silence tells me it is faint.
Analysis
Eternal-lasting minds create: the minds that last a lifetime are the same ones that saw the glorified picture of how you interpret life as a child
an image of the timeless youth: you make up things as a child that you can not understand now
They father homes of slides and gates: playground structures like slides and gates were images of childhood
I wonder if I can give truth: this bounces back to the idea that you can not go back to the same things you saw as a child; you saw everything with open eyes and glorified things. This could explain why some adults are more sad and anxious than children; they lost out on their youth and can't go back to their happiness
To be carefree as I was here: as a teen/adult, you reminisce on your childhood (the park symbolizes the innocence of childhood) but you also understand that you can't go back
— the dream they told me I would paint: the adults would tell you you would have to grow up and have to abandon the park (innocence/childhood) at some point and create your own life "paint your own picture"
I used to be deaf but now I can hear: you used to be oblivious to their words, but you now understand as you are growing older
the silence tells me it is faint: this is a contradiction; you thought you could understand, but it is still silent, which tells you that your childhood is still within you
The first stanza is painting the picture of childlike innocence. The second stanza takes that away, and talks predominantly about loss, bringing the current you back to reality.
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