On Turning Ten By Billy Collins

In Billy Collins’ poem “On Turning Ten,” the speaker reflects on a tenth birthday and the complexity of emotions that come with growing up. Through the use of metaphor, imagery, and tone, Collins conveys the speaker’s attitude of sadness and nostalgia for the simplicity of childhood.In the first half of the poem, Collins uses metaphor, imagery, and tone to depict the complex emotions that accompany growing up. Collins employs metaphor in the first stanza to convey the speaker’s feeling of illness: “like I’m coming down with something, / something worse than any stomach ache / or the headaches I get from reading in bad light— / a kind of measles of the spirit, / a mumps of the psyche” (2-6). The diseases that the speaker describes are physical

The speaker’s nostalgia for the simplicity of childhood is further reinforced through imagery in the second stanza: “you have forgotten / the perfect simplicity of being one / and the beautiful complexity introduced by two” (9-11). Collins contrasts the innocence and simplicity of being a single digit age with the more complex emotions that come with turning ten. The speaker’s memories of childhood, of being an “Arabian wizard” at four and a “soldier” at seven, evoke a sense of loss for a time that was free of the weight of growing up. Additionally, the tone of the first half of the poem portrays how the speaker feels about aging. The speaker’s description of watching the late afternoon light and observing how it falls “solemnly” (19) against the side of their tree house creates a wistful tone. The use of the word "solemnly" suggests a sense of sadness and longing for a time that is now gone. This emphasizes the speaker's sense of nostalgia for their childhood and their realization that growing up means leaving behind the simplicity and magic of

This metaphor refers to the speaker's bicycle, and conveys the idea that the excitement and thrill of childhood has been lost, drained away like the color from the bicycle. It relates to the complex emotions associated with aging and the nostalgia the speaker feels about turning ten by highlighting the loss of innocence and wonder that comes with growing up.Another example of imagery in this section is the line "watching the late afternoon light" which creates a vivid image of the speaker looking out the window and observing the changing light of the day. This imagery contributes to the wistful tone of the poem, emphasizing the speaker's longing for a simpler time when things were less complicated and the world seemed more magical. It relates to the overall theme of the complex emotions of aging and the nostalgia the speaker feels about turning ten by highlighting the sense of loss and the desire to hold onto the beauty and wonder of childhood. This line also depicts an image which evokes a sense of loss and nostalgia, as the once thrilling and speedy bike now appears dull and