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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


ADOLESCENCE by BYRON CHEW

First Line: YOU ASK ME
Last Line: AND SUBDUE THE SHORE!
Subject(s): ADOLESCENCE; TEEN AGERS;

You ask me
"Was that idol man or woman,
Or was it just the ends of a little boy's dream
Tied in a bright knot -- dangling loosely?"

At call of spring
The young grape wraps its tendrils
To the tall, immense oak.
At night the sea
Rests on the still rock-muscles of the shore.

A little boy must hide his hopes in something
Big, stately and masculine --
Something strong,
Lest the expanding tendrils break the oak
Or the sea suddenly tear loose in the storm
And subdue the shore!



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