Ted Hughes - I had let it all grow. I had supposed It...

I had let it all grow. I had supposed It was all OK. Your lifeWas a liner I voyaged in. Costly education had fitted you out. Financiers and committees and consultantsEffaced themselves in the gleam of your finish. You trembled with the new life of those engines. That first morning, Before your first class at College, you sat thereSipping coffee. Now I know, as I did not, What eyes waited at the back of the classTo check your first professional performanceAgainst their expectations. What assessorsWaited to see you justify the costAnd redeem their gamble. What a furnaceOf eyes waited to prove your metal. I watchedThe strange dummy stiffness, the misery, Of your blue flannel suit, its straitjacket, uglyHalf-approximation to your ideaOf the properties you hoped to ease into, And your horror in it. And the tannedAlmost green undertinge of your faceShrunk to its wick, your scar lumpish, your plaitedHead pathetically tiny. You waited, Knowing yourself helpless in the tweezersOf the life that judges you, and I sawThe flayed nerve, the unhealable face-woundWhich was all you had for courage.I saw that what you gripped, as you sipped, Were terrors that killed you once already. Now I see, I saw, sitting, the lonelyGirl who was going to die. That blue suit.A mad, execution uniform, Survived your sentence. But then I sat, stilled, Unable to fathom what stilled youAs I looked at you, as I am stilledPermanently now, permanentlyBending so briefly at your open coffin.

Ted Hughes

They Said So®

Ted Hughes Quotes

;

I had let it all grow. I had supposed It was all OK. Your lifeWas a liner I voyaged in. Costly education had fitted you out. Financiers and committees and consultantsEffaced themselves in the gleam of your finish. You trembled with the new life of those engines. That first morning, Before your first class at College, you sat thereSipping coffee. Now I know, as I did not, What eyes waited at the back of the classTo check your first professional performanceAgainst their expectations. What assessorsWaited to see you justify the costAnd redeem their gamble. What a furnaceOf eyes waited to prove your metal. I watchedThe strange dummy stiffness, the misery, Of your blue flannel suit, its straitjacket, uglyHalf-approximation to your ideaOf the properties you hoped to ease into, And your horror in it. And the tannedAlmost green undertinge of your faceShrunk to its wick, your scar lumpish, your plaitedHead pathetically tiny. You waited, Knowing yourself helpless in the tweezersOf the life that judges you, and I sawThe flayed nerve, the unhealable face-woundWhich was all you had for courage.I saw that what you gripped, as you sipped, Were terrors that killed you once already. Now I see, I saw, sitting, the lonelyGirl who was going to die. That blue suit.A mad, execution uniform, Survived your sentence. But then I sat, stilled, Unable to fathom what stilled youAs I looked at you, as I am stilledPermanently now, permanentlyBending so briefly at your open coffin. Ted Hughes

They Said So®

Keywords

grow supposed lifewas liner voyaged costly education fitted financiers committees consultantseffaced gleam finish trembled life engines morning class college sat theresipping coffee eyes waited back classto check professional performanceagainst expectations assessorswaited justify costand redeem gamble furnaceof prove metal watchedthe strange dummy stiffness misery blue flannel suit straitjacket uglyhalf-approximation ideaof properties hoped ease horror tannedalmost green undertinge faceshrunk wick scar lumpish plaitedhead pathetically tiny knowing helpless tweezersof judges sawthe flayed nerve unhealable face-woundwhich courage gripped sipped terrors killed sitting lonelygirl die mad execution uniform survived sentence stilled unable fathom youas looked stilledpermanently permanentlybending briefly open coffin

Explore other Authors

Edward Tufte

Thomas J. Watson

Bobby Rahal

Drew Brees

Dwight D Eisenhower

Terence

Kenneth Grahame

Elizabeth Berg

Joseph Butler

Imre KertÃ©sz

Ornette Coleman

Maya Angelou

If you are using this quote in any webpage , printmedia or any other places please use the following methods to cite this quotation.

MLA Style Citation

"A quote by Ted Hughes" theysaidso.com, 2024. Apr 23, 2024. https://theysaidso.com/quote/ted-hughes-i-had-let-it-all-grow-i-had-supposed-it-was-all-ok-your-lifewas-a-lin

APA Style Citation

"A quote by Ted Hughes" (n.d.). theysaidso.com. Retrieved Apr 23, 2024, from theysaidso.com web site : https://theysaidso.com/quote/ted-hughes-i-had-let-it-all-grow-i-had-supposed-it-was-all-ok-your-lifewas-a-lin

Chicago Style Citation

"A quote by Ted Hughes". theysaidso.com, 2024. https://theysaidso.com/quote/ted-hughes-i-had-let-it-all-grow-i-had-supposed-it-was-all-ok-your-lifewas-a-lin , accessed Apr 23, 2024.

Comments

Authentication required

You must log in to post a comment.

There are no comments yet.