Poems

My favourite William Wordsworth poem is "Lines written a few miles above Tintern Abbey on revisiting the banks of the Wye during a tour, July 13, 1798." In the poem Wordsworth reflects on the complexities of adult life and the hopes he has that memories of childhood will always sustain his spirit. I share Wordsworth’s hope; I’ve kept all my clothes, even the dirty ones, from my younger days. On quiet nights, when the sparkling moon is still, I put on the shorts and t-shirt that I wore on my first day of kindergarten. Then I take my little plastic bucket and spade and I stand in my neighbour’s sandpit. Then I soil myself and scream for my mother. Eventually she comes to my aid, leads me home, washes me and tucks me into bed.