Poems about growing up reflect the universal journey of transformation and self-discovery that individuals experience as they transition from childhood to adulthood. These poems explore the complexities, challenges, and joys of this pivotal phase of life.
Poems about growing up often delve into the process of self-discovery and the exploration of personal identity. They capture the exhilarating yet sometimes daunting journey of finding one’s place in the world.
These poems may touch upon the search for individuality, the navigation of changing relationships, and the gradual understanding of one’s dreams, passions, and values.
‘I Remember, I Remember’ by Thomas Hood is a poem dedicated to the nostalgic embrace of childhood memory. Hood idolizes his ‘childish ignorance’, painting his memories with beautiful colors and images.
Growing up in this poem is not portrayed as a smooth transition but rather a series of moments and realizations that collectively result in the loss of childhood innocence. The tone is tinged with sadness, suggesting that this process, while inevitable, is not entirely welcome.
‘Indian Weavers’ explores the inevitability of death while celebrating the cycles of human existence and experience.
An entire lifetime appears to pass in the space of a single day because of the varied items the weavers make. This reminds the reader that life is short and must be valued.
‘My Mother Would Be a Falconress’ by Robert Duncan explores a son and mother’s relationship through the lens of a falcon breaking free from his handler.
'My Mother Would Be a Falconress' takes an interesting look at how challenging it can be to assert one's independence from their parents. As the speaker grows up, he harbors resentment and anger for his mother's rules and punishments, eventually turning against her. Growing up is challenging for the speaker, and eventually, he grows to regret his behavior.
My mother would be a falconress,
And I, her gay falcon treading her wrist,
would fly to bring back
from the blue of the sky to her, bleeding, a prize,
‘My Son the Man’ explores the reality of parenting and engages with the inevitability of the passage of time.
The only reason this topic is not even more relevant to this poem is that the process of growing up is not expressed from the child's perspective but from the adult's. However, the poem's extended metaphor of Houdini is a truly unique and memorable way of depicting the realities of growing up. Furthermore, the mother is growing up, too, and her new role in her son's life is one she has yet to grow used to.
‘Childhood’ explores the transitory moment when a child becomes aware of the passing of time, and the process of growing old.
Getting older and learning about the harsh realities of life are what form the core of this piece. The speaker is an adult, who, with the passage of time, realizes how helpless it is to grow old.
I used to think that grown-up people chose
To have stiff backs and wrinkles round their nose,
In Sheenagh Pugh’s ‘Sweet 18’, an older woman expresses her desire to regain youth as she battles the temptation to take it from others.
Unlike the coming-of-age story the title implies, 'Sweet 18' is about the speaker's rejection of maturity as she tries desperately to reclaim her youth. The poem focuses on how growing up corrupts young people, destroying the innocence and purity that once characterized them. The speaker initially laments this, wanting to preserve the youth of a young man. However, she ultimately becomes entranced by the opportunity to experience youth once again, finding herself willing to corrupt the young man to do so. This poem acts as a rejection of adulthood and the idealization of youth.
You move before me with all the unknown ease
of your age; your face clear of the awareness
that clouds mine. Your only scars; where you tried
‘In Memory of the Utah Stars’ captures the manner in which memories can provide us with both pleasure and pain.
Just as the players grow up and reach the first team, the fans grow up idolising certain players and making iconic memories through sport. The cancellation of the team appears to unnaturally interrupt the process of growing up.
‘Captain Cook (To My Brother)’ by Letitia Elizabeth Landon reflects on the loss of childhood and how emotional looking back on the past is.
The speaker knows that there's nothing she could've done to prevent her losing the imaginative spark she had in childhood. The adult world doesn't really have the space for playing make-believe.
Do you recall the fancies of many years ago,
When the pulse danced those light measure that again it cannot know!
Ah! We both of us are alter’d, and now we talk no more
‘Stealing Peas’ explores the bittersweetness of a memory that ultimately reveals the inherent insecurities and vulnerabilities of childhood.
This poem skillfully captures a key moment in growing up. In ‘Stealing Peas’, the speaker’s experience of sneaking peas and asking a boy about affection reflects the emotional turbulence of adolescence. The bittersweet blend of excitement, insecurity, and vulnerability showcases the way small moments in youth often carry larger lessons about self-awareness and relationships.
The ‘Coronation’ by Helen Hunt Jackson can be considered a literary work that represents the topic of power and its instability, the worth of humility, and the desire for self-knowledge.
At the sight of the missing king, the poem brings up the issue of growing up by transferring power between the king and his eldest son by turning the latter into a slave. This reversal serves to capture the raw essence and the cost of transitioning from innocence to stoicism, which are the two key aspects of maturity, the former being depicted by the aging of the child and the latter brought about by the fulfillment of the role expectancy of the head of the family that has been thrust upon the child’s shoulders.
‘The Distances’ by Charles Olsen present a complex, haunting meditation on the darker sides of love.
As an alternative to the “spiritual,” godly reading, one can argue that tranquil stasis or, in the poem’s own terms, the “enclosure” of desire is, in fact, an effect of growing up – broadly understood. Indeed, while the poem presents both young and old as equally victimized by the flights of fancy that create the illusion of distance, perhaps the miraculous transformation of stone to something real is, after all, simply a function of maturity.
‘To a Daughter Leaving Home’ uses the metaphor of a child learning to ride a bike to beautifully capture a parent’s mixed emotions of pride and fear as they watch their daughter grow up and gain independence.
The overarching theme of growing up is central to the poem, portrayed through the metaphor of riding a bike. This theme explores the broader implications of maturation and independence, resonating with anyone who has experienced or observed the bittersweet nature of a child growing older.
‘Once Upon a Time,’ written by the Nigerian poet Gabriel Okara, is a satirical poem on the modern way of greeting someone. The lack of compassion, simplicity, and brotherhood is portrayed in this poem.
Growing up is a recurring theme in Okara's poetry. 'Once Upon a Time' captures the speaker's yearning to reclaim the simplicity and sincerity of youth. The poem should remind readers about nature of growing up, the loss of innocence, and the longing to reconnect with the pure emotions and perspectives of childhood.
‘For Heidi With Blue Hair’ is a six-stanza poem that uses action and dialogue to paint a literary picture where little to no physical setting is provided.
This poem explores the theme of growing up through Heidi's rebellious act of dyeing her hair. It symbolizes a desire for independence and self-assertion typical of adolescence. The poem captures the tension between youthful defiance and societal expectations, portraying growing up as a process of asserting individuality and navigating societal norms to define one's identity.
Hardy’s ‘He Never Expected Much’ muses on life’s fairness and death, reflecting on early lessons in resilience and acceptance.
The poem showcases the journey from childhood naivety to the pragmatic nature of maturity. Through the speaker’s thoughts on acquired knowledge about life struggles Hardy conveys the journey into adulthood. The experience shows how to balance hopeful speculations from youth against the strict realities of adult life and underscores the growth in emotions that occurs with such change.
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