The Ball Poem by John Berryman



What is the boy now, who has lost his ball.
What, what is he to do? I saw it go
Merrily bouncing, down the street, and then
Merrily over—there it is in the water!
No use to say 'O there are other balls':
An ultimate shaking grief fixes the boy
As he stands rigid, trembling, staring down
All his young days into the harbour where
His ball went. I would not intrude on him,
A dime, another ball, is worthless. Now
He senses first responsibility
In a world of possessions. People will take balls,
Balls will be lost always, little boy,
And no one buys a ball back. Money is external.
He is learning, well behind his desperate eyes,
The epistemology of loss, how to stand up
Knowing what every man must one day know
And most know many days, how to stand up
And gradually light returns to the street,
A whistle blows, the ball is out of sight.
Soon part of me will explore the deep and dark
Floor of the harbour . . I am everywhere,
I suffer and move, my mind and my heart move
With all that move me, under the water
Or whistling, I am not a little boy.


The boy was playing with the ball when it bounced down the street into the sea. The poet says that the ball was very dear to the poet. He never considered the possibility that he might lose his ball. Now that he lost it, he is grief stricken. He realizes that it was his responsibility to keep the ball safe and he has failed in his duty. He also realizes that things will get lost from time to time and money simply cannot replace them. As the little boy learn these lessons, he is growing up. The poet says that he is learning the harsh realities of life and in the process he is losing his innocence.
The poem has a deeper meaning also. The boy’s ball personifies his young and happy days and his innocence in this world, people will take away your innocence and force you to grow up. And once we lose this innocence, we can never get it back. This poem goes to show how all throughout our life, we will be forced to do things that we don’t want to do, and we will lose or have to give up the things that we love.

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