We often think about the endpoint of a journey and not the actual journey itself. The poem,“On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins focuses on this, but on the journey of life. In this poem, Collins tells the reader how growing up in life has rough changes to us, and our journey gets harder as we go on. The author emphasizes on the landmark of passing double digits, and what lies ahead from this. By using metaphors and imagery, the author shows that as we get further into our journey of life, everyone goes through and reflects on the process of leaving their past and growing up, which is where we change and deal with the pain and sadness. In the first stanza, Collins reflects on a landmark on his journey by using metaphors to emphasize the pain
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(17-23).
The displays that he’s growing up and that he lost his childhood by using imagery. Collins helps us visualize the late afternoon light to show to the reader that time is still continuing. As time goes, he gets older, and it’s something that's out of the authors control. The bike symbolizes life, and the “dark blue speed” being drained away could represent the past being taken away. Thus, using imagery these lines shows how the author is going through the process has changed, and how this change has brung sadness. The last stanza of the poem use metaphors to represent how as you continue your journey, and keep going farther and farther, you will change and face the pain of growing. Collins ends the poem on a more serious note, because he knows that he has gone through the process of leaving his past and is now afflicted with sadness and pain. He shows the difference between him before going through this process and him after by saying, “It seems only yesterday I used to believe There was nothing under my skin but light. If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of …show more content…
There, we are exposed to pain and sadness and the harsh reality of life. The passing of this landmark is as if we are inflicted with an illness, and this is something out of our control as time goes on. So as time goes on, we experience changes that are for the worse. Instead of focusing on where our voyage will take us in life, Collin’s poem focuses on the journey itself and us during it. Overall, Collins poem reflects how his expedition in life has gotten tougher and changed him from when he was a child, which relates to us because we all take part of this journey of
(17-23).
The displays that he’s growing up and that he lost his childhood by using imagery. Collins helps us visualize the late afternoon light to show to the reader that time is still continuing. As time goes, he gets older, and it’s something that's out of the authors control. The bike symbolizes life, and the “dark blue speed” being drained away could represent the past being taken away. Thus, using imagery these lines shows how the author is going through the process has changed, and how this change has brung sadness. The last stanza of the poem use metaphors to represent how as you continue your journey, and keep going farther and farther, you will change and face the pain of growing. Collins ends the poem on a more serious note, because he knows that he has gone through the process of leaving his past and is now afflicted with sadness and pain. He shows the difference between him before going through this process and him after by saying, “It seems only yesterday I used to believe There was nothing under my skin but light. If you cut me I could shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of …show more content…
There, we are exposed to pain and sadness and the harsh reality of life. The passing of this landmark is as if we are inflicted with an illness, and this is something out of our control as time goes on. So as time goes on, we experience changes that are for the worse. Instead of focusing on where our voyage will take us in life, Collin’s poem focuses on the journey itself and us during it. Overall, Collins poem reflects how his expedition in life has gotten tougher and changed him from when he was a child, which relates to us because we all take part of this journey of