What poem am I barely remembering?
October 20, 2020 11:07 AM Subscribe
The poem is about a child (maybe son?) who feels intimidated by their father's greatness. I can't remember who it is by. Towards the end, there is a line about how the child saw the length of the father's shadow (or something like that) "and ran".
If anyone can figure out what this poem is based on my very vague recollections, I would greatly appreciate it! I can't seem to find the right search terms on my own.
If anyone can figure out what this poem is based on my very vague recollections, I would greatly appreciate it! I can't seem to find the right search terms on my own.
Response by poster: Don't think so, but thanks anyhow for the thought!
posted by monkeys with typewriters at 12:25 PM on October 20, 2020
posted by monkeys with typewriters at 12:25 PM on October 20, 2020
Best answer: Could it be W. H. Auden's, The Average?
His peasant parents killed themselves with toil
To let their darling leave a stingy soil
For any of those smart professions which
Encourage shallow breathing, and grow rich.
The pressure of their fond ambition made
Their shy and country-loving child afraid
No sensible career was good enough,
Only a hero could deserve such love.
So here he was without maps or supplies,
A hundred miles from any decent town;
The desert glared into his blood-shot eyes;
The silence roared displeasure: looking down,
He saw the shadow of an Average Man
Attempting the Exceptionl, and ran.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:02 PM on October 20, 2020 [8 favorites]
His peasant parents killed themselves with toil
To let their darling leave a stingy soil
For any of those smart professions which
Encourage shallow breathing, and grow rich.
The pressure of their fond ambition made
Their shy and country-loving child afraid
No sensible career was good enough,
Only a hero could deserve such love.
So here he was without maps or supplies,
A hundred miles from any decent town;
The desert glared into his blood-shot eyes;
The silence roared displeasure: looking down,
He saw the shadow of an Average Man
Attempting the Exceptionl, and ran.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 2:02 PM on October 20, 2020 [8 favorites]
Response by poster: YES! Thank you so much
posted by monkeys with typewriters at 2:05 PM on October 20, 2020
posted by monkeys with typewriters at 2:05 PM on October 20, 2020
One of my favorite poems. Auden had such insight -- and a way of expressing it somewhere between satire and compassion.
posted by bertran at 2:38 PM on October 20, 2020
posted by bertran at 2:38 PM on October 20, 2020
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posted by MiraK at 11:34 AM on October 20, 2020