- satellitenounChapter 1 →
An object that orbits a larger body in space. Here the word describes a child who has been flung free of the parent who once held him close, now moving on his own path.
“Like a satellite wrenched from its orbit, go spinning / On to a life of its own.”
- wrenchedverbChapter 1 →
Pulled away suddenly and with force, as if torn loose. The word stresses how painful and violent the separation feels to the parent, even though it happens quietly on a playing field.
“Like a satellite wrenched from its orbit, go spinning / On to a life of its own.”
- orbitnounChapter 1 →
The fixed circular path a planet or satellite travels around a larger body. In the poem it stands for the safe, close relationship the child had with his father before stepping into independence.
“Like a satellite wrenched from its orbit, go spinning / On to a life of its own.”
- spinningverbChapter 1 →
Moving rapidly in a rotating or drifting way through open space. The word suggests the child is now loose and unguided, finding his own direction without the parent's pull.
“Like a satellite wrenched from its orbit, go spinning / On to a life of its own.”
- hesitantadjectiveChapter 1 →
Moving slowly and uncertainly, as if unsure of each step. It captures the child's nervousness as he crosses the field toward his new, unfamiliar school life.
- selfhoodnounChapter 1 →
The quality of being a distinct, independent person with one's own identity. The poem argues that a child can only develop this by separating from the parent.
“How selfhood begins to put forth, / Separate, grows.”
- put forthphraseChapter 1 →
To begin to grow or emerge, the way a plant sends out new shoots. Here it describes a child's individual identity starting to develop and take shape.
“How selfhood begins to put forth, / Separate, grows.”
- letting gophraseChapter 1 →
The act of releasing someone you love rather than holding them back. The poem presents this as the truest and most difficult expression of parental love.
- retrospectiveadjective
Looking back at something that happened in the past. The speaker is recalling a scene from eighteen years ago and reflecting on what it meant.
- partingnounChapter 1 →
A moment of separation when two people go their different ways. In the poem it refers to the ordinary, quiet goodbye on the playing field that the father has never been able to forget.
Walking AwayShort story by C. Day-Lewis