On Writing an Autobiography
"Ghostlier demarcations, keener sounds".
WALLACE STEVENS
The childhood comes easily, Punch
And Judy tell the tale, the rest
Is known to everyone, everyone.
Then there's the wrench
Into adolescence, the unblest
Hours, the fear, the fear of the sun.
Later years mean
Love, lust, hate,
How can they be put
Into a calm scene?
The love arrives too late,
The hate turns to wit.
Yet, even so I can see
A pattern, certainly with
A flaw, but yet
Showing how one comes to be,
How one catches one's breath,
And learns later to beget.
Structure
20 lines · 6 stanzas