10 Mary Street
Conveys the special feeling that you get when you are loved and nurtured in a house that is filled with special memories
Personal, conversational style
Free verse poem creating the effect of a sudden flashback of memories that come unbidden from the past
Conveys a palpable sense of belonging
Vivid imagery of the garden transports you to his childhood where he ravaged the garden that his parents lovingly tended
His parent’s strong cultural connection to Poland is conveyed by the listing of Polish food and drink, and the personification of “pre-war Europe”
Final stanza disrupts the powerful feeling of belonging, and confronts you with its fragility and transience through the symbolic key that will “open no house when this one is pulled down.”
Personal, conversational style
Free verse poem creating the effect of a sudden flashback of memories that come unbidden from the past
Conveys a palpable sense of belonging
Vivid imagery of the garden transports you to his childhood where he ravaged the garden that his parents lovingly tended
His parent’s strong cultural connection to Poland is conveyed by the listing of Polish food and drink, and the personification of “pre-war Europe”
Final stanza disrupts the powerful feeling of belonging, and confronts you with its fragility and transience through the symbolic key that will “open no house when this one is pulled down.”