ADULT

ADULT 

By LINDA GREGG 

I've come back to the country where I was happy 
changed. Passion puts no terrible strain on me now. 
I wonder what will take the place of desire. 
I could be the ghost of my own life returning 
to the places I lived best. Walking here and there, 
nodding when I see something I cared for deeply. 
Now I'm in my house listening to the owls calling 
and wondering if slowly I will take on flesh again.

Linda Gregg is one of the best American poets. As Joseph Brodsky, the Russian Nobel Laureate, described of her- “The blinding intensity of Ms. Gregg's lines stains the reader's psyche the way lightning or heartbreak do.” 

The theme of this poem is the return of an adult to the terrain where she lived a carefree and happy life. The reminders of them are all around. The only thing is that you are not the same person. You find yourself a devitalized apparition waiting for a rebirth.