Therefore, Fanthorpe is suggesting the theme of childhood as being the only time without obstacles or worries, whereas only being the time where a person can relax and enjoy the innocent, untroubled childhood. This nostalgic quality at the end ‘he never forgot’ shows a refreshing feeling of freedom and the childhood world of lacking time restrictions, with the lovely fantasy images of the ‘clockless land’ and in the phrase ‘Where time hides tick-less waiting to be born’. The readers living in a modern world of daily schedules and appointments too can empathise with the little child who had to grow up away from his care-free childhood.
‘Hide and Seek’ by Vernon Scannell also explores the theme of childhood. Here the child is playing hide and seek with his friends and thinks he has won, however, he realizes at the end that he has been abandoned by his friends. The poet also portrays childhood using various literary devices, such as metaphors, similes and personification and writes the poem as if it is an extended metaphor of the persona’s