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The Ball Poem
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.
Available Answers
- 1.
What does the poet say the boy is learning from the loss of the ball? Try to explain this in your own words.
- 2.
Do you think the boy has lost anything earlier? Pick out the words that suggest the answer.
- 3.
What does “in the world of possessions” mean?
- 4.
“… staring down/All his young days into the harbor where/His ball went…”Do you think the boy has had the ball for a long time? Is it linked to the memories of days when he played with it?
- 5.
Why does the poet say, “I would not intrude on him”? Why doesn’t he offer him money to buy another ball?