Childhood
by Markus Natten
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In this reflective poem the poet asks repeatedly when and where his childhood went, trying to pinpoint the moment he lost his childhood innocence and became an adult. He wonders whether it was when he turned eleven and realised that Hell and Heaven could not be found in geography, and that reason and rational thought had replaced blind belief. Or perhaps it was when he understood that adults were not always the loving, sincere beings they claimed to be, that they preached love but did not practise it, and were often hypocritical. Or was it when he discovered his own individuality, that his mind was truly his own, and that he could form his own thoughts and opinions independently. In the final stanza the poet concludes that his lost childhood has gone to some 'forgotten place', which still survives, unspoilt and innocent, in the face of an infant, for only in a baby's face does that pure, hidden childhood still remain.
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Was it the age of reason?
The poet asks when his childhood went, and wonders if it was on the day he turned eleven, when he realised that Hell and Heaven were not real physical places to be found in any geography book, and that reason and rational thinking had taken the place of his earlier, unquestioning childhood belief.
Was it the loss of trust in adults?
He next wonders if his childhood ended when he realised that grown-ups were not the ideal, loving beings they claimed to be, that they preached love and sincerity but did not practise them, being hypocritical in their behaviour. This disillusionment with adult double standards may have marked the end of his innocent childhood.
Was it the birth of individuality?
The poet also considers whether childhood ended when he discovered his own individuality, when he understood that his mind was truly his own, that he could think for himself and form independent thoughts and opinions, no longer merely accepting what he was told. This awakening of self-awareness may have been the true point of passage into adulthood.
Where childhood survives
In the final stanza the poet gives up trying to fix the exact moment and instead reflects on where his childhood has gone. He concludes that it has gone to a 'forgotten place', hidden away, and that it still survives, pure and innocent, only in the face of an infant. Thus lost childhood lives on in every newborn's untouched innocence.