The Speaker

The speaker is a child nearing their tenth birthday. They are facing a sense of mortality for the very first time and entering a period of mourning for the innocence they once had. They look back on the magical experiences they once took for granted, and look to the future with new, unfiltered awareness of what life has in store for them. The speaker still has a vivid imagination, but begins to feel they no longer have a right to that world. They have evolved from a being of pure light to a creature of flesh and blood with new, uncomfortable limitations.

The Adult

The poem is directed to an outside person: “You” (Line 8). This might be a parent, grandparent, caretaker, or older sibling. This person attempts to alleviate the speaker’s grief, but only because they’ve become too distant from their childhood experiences to truly...