On Turning Ten

Imagination and the magic of play is at the heart of “On Turning Ten.” The opening stanza sets the tone for the rest of the poem by taking a creative and provocative stance on the process of aging: a “measles of the spirit, / a mumps of the psyche” (Lines 5-6). In the second stanza, the idea of imagination really shines, as the narrator recounts his childhood adventures as a wizard with the power to make himself invisible, as a soldier, and as a prince. The child speaks literally here, rather than figuratively, alluding to some simple and effortless magic only accessible during childhood.

While evocative, the imagery used here is general enough that it could easily be anyone’s childhood, anyone’s magic that they might look back on and remember. This suggests that simply by imagining these things, the child is tapping into a creative force that others—in particular the adult whom he speaks to when he says, “You tell me it is too early to be looking back, / but that is because you have forgotten” (Lines 8-9)—have long since lost. It may be worth exploring the idea that it’s those who retain this imagination and creativity into adulthood—the writers, artists, and storytellers—who create these ideas that feed the boy’s imagination of wizards and soldiers and princes in the first place.