Donald Justice's "Men at Forty" review.
...isce and remember the old days with his father as if it happened yesterday. He remembers the warmth, the sounds, and the special feelings. Donald Justice’s “Men at Forty” relays the feeling of dignity as one ages and experiences the loss of time as it passes slowly with the determination of the ocean. Men in Justice’s writing are forced to remember their youthful selves with loss instead of embracing and celebrating the accomplishments that filled the lives of Bidart’s characters. Justice explains aging as almost a duty that must be done. Bidart expresses the surprise of aging and the fact that most “…didn’t plan it that way (459).” Bidart makes getting older sound so swift, purposeful, and busy. This is somewhat vague. What’s the tone of the poem? Do you mean to say that this speaker is happy to be growing older? He expresses the fact that most are so busy that they do not realize the have aged until it was too late. That most men take on wives, children, accomplishments, and other preferences that added to their distraction. But Bidart makes the swiftness and confusion sound like one accomplishment to celebrate, as o...