11:00 baldovan

• "threepenny bits like thick cogs"


  simile - just as a cog is fundamental, a major part and necessary to the mechanism of a machine so too are these coins essential, integral and vital to the success of his day. This suggests how important and excited he is at the prospect of spending money is to him
• "for the first time ever on our own"


  proud tone - "on our own" has connotations of self-pride, accomplishment and maturity. This highlights the young boys swagger as he goes on to consider his spending power
• "I plan to buy comics, sweeties and magic tricks"

  confident tone - There is authority, maturity and sense of control in his voice. This is poignant for old readers as these are ephemeral concerns of a young person who hasn't seen responsibility or challenge
• "obscurely worried"


  has connotations of indistinct, vague and unclear. This conveys how the uneasiness is weird, strange and peculiar. It suggests he doesn't understand why he is troubled. The tone changes at this point in the poem from a childish tone to a sophisticated tone using a more adult-like word
• "as usual"


  has connotations of normal, every day and accustomed to. This conveys how the feeling of worry is not new, a habit and how it has become/should be routine as part of living an adult life. This shows contrast between childhood and adulthood and suggests how life changes as we grow up
• "matters of procedure, the protocol of travel"

  has connotations of rules, regulations and law. This conveys an idea of maturity, sensibility and that he is very practical. it suggests that he has started to recognise real concerns of life compared to the ephemeral ones of a child and give a sense that he is perhaps worried aswell
• "Are ye sure? Are ye sure?"


  repetition - emphasises the uncertainty and doubt he experiences causing him to panic portraying the concerns that adults experience when travelling. The use of "ye" returns us to the language of the boys as children. This juxtaposes with the adult language around it and reflects the image of small boys out of their depth in adult surroundings.
• "the bus will let us down in a foreign country"

  just as a foreign country is unfamiliar, strange and alien so too is the destination (the town in present times) unknown, different and unrecognisable. This conveys the change the town has gone through and a sense of surreality is created. This suggests the weird feeling the poet has now that things have changed
• "no one will have heard of the sweets we asked for"


  the example given at the start of the poem turns out to be against him. It hints at the idea that what is secure and familiar is destroyed by change.
• "charred wreck"


  metaphor - just as the wreck is demolished, ruined and burned so too is the bus figuratively, changed, different and unalike to the way it was before. This conveys the uneasiness change brings and how change destroys the sense of security and familiarity that humans feel comfort in
• "sound funny"


  has connotations of unusual, incomprehensible and confusion. This conveys the odd, strange and weird feeling of growing up. This suggests the trauma of growing up and the childish language shows how they don't understand what is happening to them
• "the rain tastes like kelly an black waves fold in"

  simile - just as it is strange, abnormal and atypical for rain to taste like sherbet so too is the change peculiar, unnatural and bizarre to the poet. This shows how the ordinary rain being sweet and fizzy makes the poet feel alien to the place
• "fifty years dead"


  has connotations of past, ages back and a while ago. This conveys how the "sisters and mothers" have passed long back and former times. This emphasises how quickly time can pass highlighting how the change in his life has impacted the reader significantly