Old Man, Old Man
He lives in a world of small recalcitrant
Things in bottles, with tacky labels. He was always
A man who did-it-himself.
Now his hands shamble among clues
He left for himself when he saw better,
And small things distress: I’ve lost the hammer.
Lifelong adjuster of environments,
Lord once of Shed, garage and garden,
Each with its proper complement of tackle,
World authority on twelve different
Sorts of glue, connoisseur of nuts
And bolts, not good with daughter
But a dab hand with the Black and Decker,
Self-demoted in your nineties to washing up
After supper, and missing crusted streaks
Of food on plates; have you forgotten
The jokes you no longer tell, as you forget
If you’ve smoked your timetabled cigarette?
Now television has no power to arouse
Your surliness; your wife could replace on the walls
Those pictures of disinherited children,
And you wouldn’t know. Now you ramble
In your talk around London districts, fretting
At how to find your way from Holborn to Soho,
And where is Drury Lane? Old man, old man,
So obdurate in your contracted world,
Living in almost-dark, I can see you,
You said to me, but only as a cloud.
When I left, you tried not to cry. I love
Your helplessness, you who hate being helpless.
Let me find your hammer. Let me
Walk with you to Drury Lane. I am only a cloud.
U A Fanthorpe
Cut out the 15 boxes below. See if you can match up the points, evidence and the analysis.
Point / Evidence / AnalysisA once skilful man, has lost control over his hands / “let me” / This word suggests total unquestioning authority with servants beneath him.
Fanthorpe gives the old man the title / “Lord” / It makes him sound helpless, like a small infant who needs others to feed him, clean him and clothe him
The old man now sounds like a child / “Shamble” / World. This could perhaps refer to his eyesight and not being able to see much nowadays.
The repetition of / “you tried not to cry” / This word suggests not only that his hands are shaky but they make a mess of everything now.
The old man now lives in a smaller / “contracted” / Suggests the poet’s desire almost despiration to help him but also this is the final opportunity they have to form a close relationship.