Eden after
The story behind the poem
The poem is about my own
childhood memories and the significance of their accuracy or
otherwise. In my recollection, the time up to about the age of nine
was one both of infinite discovery and possibility, and also endless
enjoyment whatever the season or the weather. It was also a time when
I remember feeling secure and loved and natural, without either guilt
or hang-ups. But then there were
drawbacks. Sometimes I wanted things I couldn't have, or I was shouted
at or punished - perhaps unjustly from my point of view. There must
have been pain, too, and suffering from childhood illnesses, but this
too has been softened in retrospect.
Selectivity probably also applies to myths which derive from folk memories of earlier ages. Most
civilizations have their Golden Age or their Garden of Eden. Just as people
long to return to the long, pleasurable days and the security and
innocence of childhood, so peoples look back with nostalgia to their
past and believe it held all the good and none of the bad things in
life.
by Damaris West Read the poem
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