Once upon a time, in our very young lives, we could not wait to be the adult. Then "poof", one day magically it happens, we have reached the pinnacle of adulthood. Instead of relishing and enjoying "adulthood". We start to think about the good ole" days, the good times, and the happiness we had just being a "kid".
In each poem "On Turning Ten"(Collins), "The Fury of Overshoes"(Sexton), and "Hanging Fire"(Lorde), the speaker is reflecting on the remembrance of his or her childhood. Each having a different aspect of what is was to be a child. In each poem the speaker is using imagery, and irony speaking of their childhood memories, or just what it is to be a child. .
"On Turning Ten"(Collins), the speaker is an adult who is remembering the whole idea of turning ten, as if it was going to be the greatest turning point in his life. He tells us how he remembers at age four he was an Arabian wizard, or could make himself invisible just by drinking a glass of milk a certain way. Then he describes to us how, by watching the late afternoon light, it never fell so solemnly against the side of his tree house, since he had turned the ripe age of ten. .
"The Fury of Overshoes" (Sexton) again we have an adult "remembering when", and in this case her imagery is focused on overshoes, remembering how they all sat in a row, and the different colors. Or, under her bed sat the wolf, who's shadow she saw when cars passed by. By these images the speaker wants the reader to connect, and to remember the good, or bad times of being just a kid.
"Hanging Fire"(Lorde), has a different aspect, as the speaker is a young woman, of fourteen, who for some reason does not like anything that happens in her life or surroundings. This poem reflects a different part of growing up and the frustration of the in between stage of no longer a child, but not quite the adult. Being a teenage girl the reader is shown; of how she has nothing to wear, or that her room is too small, but somehow she has to learn how to dance in time for the next party.
