Ditch the ads, upload images and much more - upgrade today from 5.95/month!
Read • Contests • Groups • Learn • Forums • Store • Help
 

Central Park, Christmas Eve, 1948

 






I am running again, it seems
toward some unseen cliff -
this is where I have lived
these past years.
No, not in this park
(sometimes far away, south,
or under the ice,
glassed over like a duck
that doesn't know
where it should have flown).

I am running again,
joyful-ignorant,
and who will save me?

I have so many questions
and make-believe answers,
stuck between
the child and the man,
trying to find me
somewhere in the rye.

How will I catch the children
if I cannot catch myself?






Author notes

Holden Caulfield was a boy in a man's body - an adolescent struggling to hold onto those things that made sense to him as a boy (and struggling to understand those mysteries that seemed unsolvable to him when he was growing up).  He needed things to mean something, needed to feel as though he had a purpose (catching the children), needed someone to catch him, wanted to know that the ducks in Central park weren't trapped (as he sometimes felt) beneath the ice.  This, I think, is one of the reasons the novel has become the handbook of American teens, the reason I read it so many times that it has become inextricably linked to my memories of those years.
Written August 9th, 2006

A contest entry

What did you think

    I plan to revise this poem: please leave constructive criticism!
    : , Your review:

    Comment Suggestion: What is your your first impression?
    • Line numbers  • Invite them to read
    : no Cost: 0 free left 0 points, You have (?)

Comments

1 - 16 of 16
  • ecrivain01
    August 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Hmmmmm. I promoted it for ten times at 14 points a click, and it looks like you came close to 100 per cent on comments. That's simply amazing.

  • justbeyourself
    August 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    absolutely amazing!

    great write like tlc7550 said very deep made me think a lot but it was absolutely fantastic keep on writing x00xx0,
    emily aka justbeyourself


  • xXLithiumRemedyXx
    August 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    This is a cool poem! Very deep. It made me think a lot. Wonderful job.


  • Blue Eyed Skies
    August 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    I really enjoyed this, you have great imagery and a poignant message. There was excellent flow and rhythm, and it made me want to read The Catcher in the Rye, so well done.


  • lonely and free
    August 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    You have perfectly captured a tortuous time of life for the male of the species. Such a wide ravine between childhood and manhood and some are not so good at the longjump

  • olddrivelandrubbish
    August 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    nutfactor9

    how can you catch yourself when youve no idea what direction your falling in
    when youve been miss sold the idea of ground
    what it supporsa and can supply
    life here... or their in the park
    is completley unsustainable as we burn oil in cars
    and drink to stupify ourselves in bars
    as bullion is stolen during prime time ours
    dusty mushroom fruits of capitalisms most brutal hours
    your miss spent hours
    should be redirected
    to removing those surrounding hitlers


  • paullallady silver member
    August 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    good

    I liked this poem, it was deep and thoughtful.


  • Mel-the-Believer
    August 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    Excellent

    This was excellent, I mean it was amazing. I loved it. You did so great with this poem. Good job. God Bless!

  • ecrivain01
    August 18, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    I was so impressed with this poem, which won my contest, that I am promoting it as well. I think it would be good for more people to see it.


  • S A Adelmann
    August 17, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    I didn't really want a comma there - I want the "joyful" and the "ignorant" to be linked - so I went with a hyphen.

    scott

  • ecrivain01
    August 17, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    There should be a comma after "joyful". Otherwise, this is perfect, and I can't think of anything more you could or should do to change anything. Thanks for entering and good luck in the contest.

  • S A Adelmann
    August 10, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    No problem. I'm glad you liked it

  • ecrivain01
    August 10, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    Could you mention in the comments box how you feel this applies to the contest (yes, I know, it does, but I still need some kind of definitive statement to that effect).

    Great poem. Thanks for entering.


  • puzzledone121
    August 10, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    a person is a unique creation,indeed, because his personality evolves from a hodge podge slop of genes, observations,adaptations, and a long line of life's experiences, encounters, emotions...life is a person's personal quest of finding oneself...and more often than not, he never does...the difficulty lies in the turbulence he has to endure in trying to resolve his personal issues and concerns in trying to live out his life...

  • Buchan
    August 10, 2006
    Edit | Reply

    excellent

    Well expressed. Yes the boy and the adult. Wonderful theme,words that blend with great meaning. Thank you for writing a very unique poem.


  • Night Hope gold member
    August 9, 2006
    Edit | Reply
    "stuck between
    the child and the man,
    trying to find me
    somewhere in the rye."

    I have no doubt that you will, Scott...You've already caught so many glimpses of him, my Friend, as is obvious by the growth I've seen in your writing over the past 2 years...Another grand penning, laden with complex simplicity & a search for Wisdom & Truth...Good luck in the contest, Scribe...well done... Wanda

1 - 16 of 16