Walking Away by Cecil Day-Lewis

Poems from different cultures can help us gain an insight into everyday life for people from different countries or of different religion. The relationship between parent and child is different in every family, but with most, the child is often influenced by its parents. This relationship changes as time goes by, mainly as the children would like more freedom as they get older, and believe that their parents need to learn to trust them more and give them independence. We have been studying poems which express the parent-child relationship from different points of view.

'Walking Away' by Cecil Day-Lewis is written from the fathers point of view. It is generally about the emotions he went through as the time came to let go of his son.

In the first stanza, the poet creates the image of a very poignant memory. He writes, "It is eighteen years ago, almost to the day." From this I can tell that he still remembers this day very clearly; it is still very vivid in his mind. The phrase, "almost to the day" makes me think that the poet doesn't just think of that day on its anniversary, but he thinks of it persistently.

Day-Lewis also talks about change and transformations. We read, "A sunny day with leaves just turning, the touch-lines new ruled - since I watched you play." This tells me that the poet is talking about a time of new beginnings and how his life is now different because of these changes. By using the word "sunny", Day-Lewis instantly puts an image of happiness in the readers head. However, the word "turning" contradicts with this and suggests that the contentment faded. When the poet uses the phrase, "touch-lines new ruled" I think he is suggesting that his son is moving on and feels that he will be able to choose not to listen to his father anymore.

It is clear that that the poet believes his son was dragged away from him. He writes, "Like a satellite wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away." This makes me think that Day-Lewis is trying to show that a son should always revolve around his father; he should always need his father to be there, keeping him on track, or keeping him in his 'orbit'. I think that the poet uses 'orbit' do describe himself, the father, his son being the 'satellite'. By using the word "wrenched" the poet creates the image of something being pulled with great force and maliciousness. On the other hand, the word "drifting" makes me think of something moving very gradually, as if carried by water, taking nature's course. I think this relates to the poet's son by showing that he is going through the natural stages of life, growing up like every child should.

In the second verse, the poet shows himself feeling as though his son isn't ready to face the outside world alone yet. He writes, "A half-fledged thing set free into a wilderness". This helps me to see that Day-Lewis believes that his son is still only a young boy to him, and is definitely not ready to leave home yet. When the poet writes, "half-fledged" I think that he is referring to birds and how they leave the nest when they are fully-fledged. Therefore the poet is again referring to the fact that his son isn't quite ready. By using the word "wilderness", Day-Lewis creates an image of an unsafe environment which no loving parent should let their child go alone.

The poet suggests that his son would be lost without help from his father. We read, "Who finds no path where the path should be". From this I can tell that the poet believes his son will be completely on his own, without the guidance that he has so-far received throughout his life. This also suggests that his son wants to go on his own adventure and does not want to follow the path that his parents have chosen for him-he wants to lead his own life.

In the third stanza, Day-Lewis refers to nature quite often. We are told that his son was a "hesitant figure, eddying away." This shows that the poet's son may be just as reluctant to leave his father, as his father is for him to leave. The word "hesitant" helps me to see that his son wants to leave but is quite anxious at the same time. When Day-Lewis writes "eddying", this links back to "drifting" as they are both words referring to nature's course. These words relate back to the stages of a child growing up.

The poet presents his son as a "winged-seed" and the father as "its parent stem." From this I can tell that Day-Lewis is comparing his relationship with the lifestyle of a plant, and how a seed eventually grows and progresses into a stem. The word "loosened" makes me think of something being removed gently, contrasting with the word "wrenched", used earlier in the poem. I think he used this word to show that he must 'loosen' himself from his son and let him get on with his own life.

Again, the poet refers to nature to describe his relationship with his son. We read, "About natures give-and-take the small, scorching ordeals which fires one's irresolute clay." This makes me think that, although he knows it's natural for this to happen, the poet doesn't want to believe it. By using the word, "scorching", Day-Lewis gives the reader an image of something that burns and can be painful - something that leaves a permanent scar. The phrase, "irresolute clay" also links to this as I think it means that clay can be moulded and shaped to anyone's liking when it's wet, however, once it has been fired in the kiln, it can't be changed anymore, it is in that shape permanently. This relates to the poet's son as it suggests that a child can be moulded when it is younger because they have their parents there to listen to. However, it suggests that once they have left home, they are now on their own and can't be moulded by their parents anymore.

In the final stanza, the poet suggests that the memories will never be forgotten. He writes, "But none that so gnaws my mind still". From this I can tell that it never leaves the poets mind - it's all he thinks about. By using the word "gnaws", Day-Lewis creates the