Have you seen the boy with the flaxen curls?

Question

Inspired by the painting "Bubbles' by Sir John Everett Millais

Oh say where is the boy with the flaxen curls

crowning an angelic head much envied by girls.

Where is this child with pure innocent looks

sometimes seen as a painting in storybooks.

He is not now, the passing years are to blame

that his like can only be seen in a picture frame.

where time cannot steal his once flaxen curls,

envied by jealous mothers and their little girls.

His angelic face now unfairly aged by time,

and curls of flaxen hair now seasoned by rime.

The little boy, a fading image still lives on as

a fleeting recollection in the boys own son.

Answer 1

You have, like the little boy of the painting, seen the bubble and seen in it the beauty and fragility of life.  A lovely evocation of the circle of life; the flower pot is never really broken, is it?

Answer 2

You have aptly expressed the legacy the old leave to the young. The boy has not gone anywhere; he lives in the genetic legacy of his father.

Answer 3

That's a pretty nice poem. Though the last 2 lines are a disappointment. Since they don't rhyme it kind of sticks out from the rest of the poem and doesn't really bring the poem to an end. I don't know if it was done on purpose or if it was just one of those times when the author had a brain f**t, so to speak. I enjoyed the rest of the poem it's just that I can't really get over the last 2 lines =/

Answer 4

I liked the "aging" sensation to this.  Starts out - full of exuberance, energy and lightness - the bouncy, shiny, flaxen curls. Then drifts into slowness and age which fades.  Finally - the rejuvenation and resurrection -  through an image of the next generation. Well done. Suggestion: L4 - would it meter better by just saying "books" and leave off the "story"? ♥

Answer 5

As always Robert I enjoy. You paint quite well without a canvas.