The Ball Poem

By Pranav Dubey
This poem by John Berryman is about a boy who has lost his ball. Usually, losing a ball is not a very big issue. Young children often lose their toys and balls. The boy here, looks on helplessly as his ball ‘merrily bounces down the street’ and falls into the water, gone forever. I think the ball here also symbolises the innocent childhood that often slips away due to losses in life.

The boy can get more balls, yet the loss of this ball affects him greatly. The boy loses hope of getting his ball back as it had sunk in the water.

But there is a change of mood. He realises that that loss is a part of the game of life. He must take such losses in life in order to move on. Achievements will follow losses in life. Even money cannot buy the memories back. Money is external.

The boy recovers from his loss. It is a lesson that ought to be learned. Life is like a car. It will throw you out of the windscreen but will also give you better things. As Aaditya shared during the class - Sorrow and Joy are the threads of life. One has to wear all of these. The theme of the poem is that life is precious and should not be wasted. Life must be lived. And life can be lived purposely and fruitfully only when we stand up each time and  rise from our losses.