The poem "small town with one road" portrays the mixed feelings which the speaker is experiencing on crossing his home town with his daughter . the poem is a mirror to the speaker's feelings of his past (his childhood), the reality of his present(the fact that he's leading a comfortable life)and the hopeful desires of this future(his future symbolized through his daughter) . the very first line of the poem , "we could be here" is an echo of the dilemma the speaker is in. he is pondering over the idea of coming back to his native village. Considering his family and a comfortable future most important , he decides against it. Throughout the poem the speaker is in a reminiscent mood. we see him switching thoughts between his past present and future.
On passing through his native village he speaker steps back in his childhood . his roots seem to be calling him , and he wonders if he could return to his village. He recollects how as a child he and his companions would carry dimes and cross the highway to buy candies (from the store). how he would laugh and enjoy the sweet taste of the candies. And how they would play with animals and chickens in the yard. On one hand he talks about sweet candies and how at that time he and others like him were just "spectators of fun", however on the other hand he remembers all the hard work every one living in the village had to do. he is reminded of the hard life the people of the village had, the scorching heat of the sun under which the villagers had to work. The speaker thinks about his wife , who as a little girl had worked hard in her father's filed ,boxing fruits and tilling the land. There is a comparison shown between a life full of fun , and a life full of hard work. Along with the cherished memories of his childhood, he speaker also remembers the hardships of adulthood. we can see the mixed feelings which the speaker is experiencing" Consequently the first line of the poem comes back to mind, "we could be here".
