Introduction of the Poem:
"After Reading a Prediction" has been taken from Ezekiel's Collected Poems (1989). It is about the daily, weekly, monthly or annual forecasts of various zodiac signs published in newspapers and magazines, and describes the poet's reaction as well as resolve as he reads a prediction about his own zodiac sign.
Critical Summary
The poet claims that he is not superstitious by nature. Yet when he reads the prediction for his zodiac sign of Sagittarius, he resolved to tweak it and try to live up to it. The prediction is that the next seven years for people born under the zodiac sign of Sagittarius will herald “a new creative phase of seven years” in their lives. The poet has always aspired to be a “healer” and not a sick or indifferent individual in life. He wants to leave a mark as a lively and helpful person to both friends and strangers in life as he does not want to lead a “barren” existence. He wants to make the place where he was born and where he now lives a “tolerable” place for himself as well as others in this “creative phase of seven years”. He wants to live his life fully, and not to be inert or lifeless. This is how he wants his life to be a “celebration”.
He aspires to be a faithful friend “amidst the commonplace, everyday happenings and not merely watch spiders climbing up the walls, or ants busy in their activities, or remembering holidays by the sea and learning morals from long - forgotten legends. He wants to be on firmer ground so that he can “improvise” on his later work. He wants to live his life lightly and stay forever “young”, defying the bonds and limitations of his physical self. This is his resolve for the next seven years of “a new creative phase".
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