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Annotated by:
- Aull, Felice
- Date of entry: Mar-26-1998
Summary
The poet likens a sudden awareness of middle-age to "a pear [that] spoils from the inside out" of which one "may not be aware / until things have gone too far."
Primary Source
Otherwise: New and Selected Poems
Publisher
Graywolf
Place Published
St. Paul, Minn.
Edition
1996
Commentary
In this 11-line poem, Kenyon moves from boredom, to anger, to fear and desolation as an existential moment during middle-age is encountered. Compare this poem with Gary Soto's poem, Afternoon Memory, in which the perspective on aging is more light-hearted (see this database).