Language

baby vole is innocent like the child. Sherbet lemons on the surface are sweet but are sour in the centre — a

metaphor for how a child is blissfully unaware of the sour and sinister future awaiting her

‘rope’

metaphor for death of childhood self

‘tree’

metaphor for growth, potential, innocence

‘long buried’

symbolic of how time/growing up bury freedom and wonder of childhood

‘balancing…on the tightrope’

metaphor for fearlessness and playfulness of youth

‘white paper’

metaphor for purity, innocence, potentail, youth, untainted future

‘You would rather run than walk, rather climb than run, rather leap’

syntactic parallels - rhythm and balance

‘scared lanes’

hypallage - It projects the child’s fear onto the environment, making the world seem threatening and unfamiliar.

• This reflects how, as a child, emotions can shape how you see everything around you — the fear feels so strong that even the lanes seem “scared.”

• It creates a sense of isolation and vulnerability, suggesting the child feels small in a big, intimidating world.

• Alternatively, the hypallage “scared lanes” could suggest that it is not just the child who feels fear, but that the world itself is fragile and uncertain, implying that childhood is a time where everything feels unstable and unpredictable, rather than simply frightening.

‘scars’

symbol of physical and emotional trauma

‘look’, ‘watch’, be ‘careful’

lexical field of vigilance, instillation of parental authority corrupting child’s freedom

‘summer morning’

metaphor for joy, freedom, opportunity, nostalgia, adventure

‘bad back’

plosive alliteration = contempt

‘scab’

painful, leaves a scar, yet child peels it showing their curiosity and willingness to love in the present moment. Perhaps, it is a comment on their naivety and rash decision making, as they act impulsively without thinking about consequences, yet it is this notion that the speaker reminisces about their childhood, as their current adult life is purged of all liveliness and risk-taking