Introduction of the Poem:
In this poem, a young woman recalls how she would sit on a swing when she was four or five years old with her cousin, who was six or seven. Now she looks for swings in the suburb of a city and is filled with desire for her cousin.
Critical Summary:
When the protagonist was a small girl of four or five, she used to sit on a swing with her male cousin who was six or seven at that time. They used to enjoy the experience as the swing moved at great speed from one side to the other as someone pushed it. With every “lunge of the swing” she would feel the physical closeness of the cousin perched on her lap. This experience of physical contact intensified with every thrust and penetrated to her heart, stirring it to its very depths. After the ride on the swing, the cousins would climb a tree. The tree was not very tall but it was full of leaves which resembled the leaves of a fig tree. At that time, the girl and her cousin enjoyed this pastime in an “innocent” manner.
Now when the girl has grown into a young woman, she lives in a thickly - populated city which has fifteen suburbs. She wistfully recalls the thrill of her childhood experience as she looks for that swing in her new habitat. But her longing for her cousin's company on the swing is no longer that “innocent”. She now desires to experience something more - probably to have sex with her cousin - as she looks at the " crotch " of a tree bursting “under every leaf” scattering numerous “scarlet figs” even if someone suddenly sneezes.
The poem depicts the psychology of a small child who, as a young woman now, looks for a lot more than the “innocent.” Pleasures of her childhood with her cousin, who must be a grown - up young man.
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