In The Park

In Line 8, “a small balloon” rises from the man’s head. This cartoon thought bubble, an image the poem draws from the visual conventions of comic strip characters expressing their thoughts, represents the judgment the woman feels about herself, which she imposes on others and assumes they feel as well. The word “unquestionably” (Line 7) implies that there is no doubt in the woman's head that the man is having these thoughts, which depicts just how self-conscious she is about her chaotic and unruly children screaming and pulling on her clothes—she feels at all times the external judgmental gaze of social disapproval. The intrusion into her life of her pre-domesticity past heightens this anxiety and makes her consider the path of her life, as well as other possible futures she gave up. She assumes that the man is thinking, there “but for the grace of God” (Line 8)—a phrase of relief that he is not trapped in her life. This thought bubble reflects the woman’s rueful thoughts about the “great surprises” (Line 6) life has actually held for her.