Infant Cry
I know no word,
I am but two days old.
How can I tell thee?
I angry am,
Cry is my word.
Why am I outside thee?
Angry Cry!
Angry cry but two days old,
Angry cry I charge thee;
Thou dost smile,
I cry the while—
Why am I outside thee?
After our discussion last class, I became aware of why this poem embodies innocence. As we discussed, a crucial component to innocence is the lack of awareness of anything other than the "I," which the poem constantly refers back to. As the newborn speaker proclaims, "I happy am / Joy is my name" (4-5), the reader does not condemn this youthful voice for being self-centered, but rather, the reader understands and even celebrates the process of maturation in its most juvenile state: the creation of self. It is impossible to ask the question, "what shall I call you?" before one knows the answer to "What shall I call thee?" (3). As we grow it becomes increasingly important to recognize that we do not exist in this world alone, but that each person has a unique experience with the world around them; however, "the sweet joy" that comes with being "two days old" (8), is that one is allowed to ignore everything other than the self.
ReplyDelete