Poem Analysis, By Sharon Olds

Life always appears to have numerous paths and turns until you finally begin to fully understand it. People can go from strangers to finally meeting, acquaintences, lovers, friends, enemies, and even soulmates. You never realize when it will end or what will come in between the two. The poem by Sharon Olds is a story about her parents and how she wishes they did not meet one another. She starts off by imagining her parents "standing at the formal gates of their colleges" and describes the gates they exit from. The parents both make their way out from different sceneries to the speaker, there are differences between the two adults being described. They are distinctly separate people, each coming from a different background and location. The father "strolls" out under a ochre sandstone arch while the mother walks out with books and walks through a wrought-iron gate. It was graduation day and they were soon to be married, but according to their daughter they were too young, dumb, and innocent. She wishes they never met and wants to convince them that they are wrong for eachother. She claims they're going to do bad things to children, but doesnt specify the outcome. At the end of her story she abandons the idea on trying to break apart her parents with her "selfish" ways she says "but I don't do it. I want to live." …show more content…
Sharon seems to despise her parents because of all the wrong they will inflict on the world. Towards the end she surrenders that ridiculous thought and thinks about her life. The speaker thinks about how in all actuality you cant change fate and knows that without them she wouldnt even be in this world. Even though she "doesn't" tell them about how they're wrong for eachother, she still is only thinking about herself. Not about how much good they will do or how much they love her and