The speaker remembers lying among four-o’clock flowers at dusk, feeling calm and safe under the moon. As a child or young adolescent, he could sleep half-naked under the stars, and rest came easily—deep and sweet, like first love. That earlier peace is gone. Now he feels restless and feverish; nothing—not medicine, drugs, or alcohol—can cool his body or take away the bitter taste in his mouth. The poem moves from a gentle, nostalgic memory of innocence to a tense, unhappy present. The contrast is stark: the past is soft, open, and trusting; the present is closed, dissatisfied, and physically uncomfortable. It captures the emotional turmoil of growing up, when bodily desires and anxieties replace the unthinking calm of childhood.
Adolescence — Summary
There was a time when in late afternoon The four-o’clocks would fold up at day’s close Pink-white in prayer, and ’neath the floating moon I lay with them in calm and sweet repose. And in the open spaces I could sleep, Half-naked to the shining worlds above; Peace came with sleep and sleep was long and deep, Gained without effort, sweet like early love. But now no balm--nor drug nor weed nor wine-- Can bring true rest to cool my body’s fever, Nor sweeten in my mouth the acid brine, That salts my choicest drink and will forever.