Sons

Sons

Stanza 1 

Sarcastic sons slam front doors. 

So a far door slams and I think

of Cardiff outskirts where, once, captured acres played

at being small tamed gardens: the concrete way

roads supplanted grass, wild flowers, bosky paths.

 Now my son is like that, altering every day.

This stanza shows us that the persona's son is undergoing puberty which has changed his attitudes and given him mood swings resulting in him slamming 'front doors'. He compares this drastic change with that of how the Cardiff he knows has changed over time. Day by day Cardiff changed throughout his life same with his son.

Stanza 2 

I was like that ; also like 

those new semis that seemed ashamed,

their naked windows slashed across by whitewash.

At the frontier of Nowhere order and chaos clash.

And who's not lived at the frontier of Nowhere

and being adolescent was both prim and brash?

He also describes this time of life as like

new houses which are left unused.

He has described it to be like this because this time of life may be like this because it lacks direction and meaning. This is the time in life where most people are searching for the true meaning of life. 

Stanza 3


Strange a London  door should slam
and I think thus, of Cardiff evenings
trying to rain, of quick dark where raw brick could hide,
could dream of being ruins where ghosts abide.
Still, spreading lamps assert themselves too early.
Awkward Anglo-Welsh half town, half countryside.


He now goes onto describe how this is like this everywhere nd every person goes through the same change in their lives, that is something we all share.


Stanza 4

Son, you are like that and I
love you for it. In adult rooms
the hesitant sense of not belonging quite.
Too soon maturity will switch off your night,
thrust fake electric roots, the nameless becoming
wrongly named and your savage darkness bright.


This stanza shows that Abse misses the time of life, it is the last stage in life before maturity takes over. You need to enjoy it while you can.