To my nine year old self Flashcards
Form
Serves as both a dedication and an elegy, encapsulating the poem’s themes of nostalgia, self-alienation, and lost innocence.
Title
An attempt at communication across time, as if the speaker is writing a letter to a ghostly version of herself—one that still exists in memory but is unreachable.
‘To my’
Both intimacy and distance, as though the speaker is addressing someone, she loves yet no longer fully understands. It also suggests fragmentation of identity—the speaker is no longer the same person she once was,
Structure
Lack of fixed structure demonstrates the fragmented nature of memory and the disconnection between past and present
Enjambment?
Allows memories to flow freely, while sudden pauses and truncated sentences reflect hesitation and regret, emphasizing the one-sided nature of this “conversation.”
You must forgive me
Establishes a tone of regret and apology the direct address to the speaker’s younger self suggests a sense of distance and disconnection
Must = need for reconciliation feels guilty how she’s changed over time and to come to terms with who she is now
You would rather run than walk, rather climb than run
The contrast between this description and the speaker’s current state suggests a nostalgic longing for the freedom and fearlessness of their younger self.
I have spoiled this body we once shared
The speaker and their younger self may technically be the same person, but they now feel like separate entities as she neglected/ mistreated her body over time
We have nothing in common beyond a few shared years
The phrase “nothing in common” suggests that adulthood has stripped them of the dreams, optimism, and physical vibrancy of childhood. A few shared years diminishes the significance of this past
That dream we had, no doubt it’s as fresh in your mind as the white paper to write it on
