Tuesday, May 17, 2005

Holden Caulfield

Maurice Sagoff's "Shrink Lits" entry for J.D. Salinger:

School was crummy,
Classmates mean,
Holden Caulfield,
Aged sixteen,
Dropped out to the New York scene.
There he wandered,
Sorrow's son,
Overgrown
But underdone,
Seared by girls...it wasn't fun.
Broke, disheartened,
Home he slid,
Sister Phoebe,
(Perky kid),
Buoyed him up, she really did.
Only for the
Moment, though;
Down the skids
Alas, he'll go,
Landing in a shrink château.
Ah, what torment
Must be his
Who Goddamns
But feels Gee Whiz!
Youth is rough--it really is.

--from Literary Cavalcade, Jan 2 '03, vol. 55, issue 4

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