Sons - Dannie Abse

From within this poem we instantly get the impression of Abse talking to us on how is son acts and what he is like. We see that he is much like his dad when he is at this age and we can instantly make the link to another one of Abse's poems Imitations with how he refers to his son appearing like him as time goes on.
From within this poem we get a sense of imagery used to portray to us how his son is like with the different elements that are found within Cardiff. We see this within the first stanza with how Abse is portraying to us readers that change has occured on the lands of Cardiff and that everything is restricted unlike before. We see this from the line, "captured acres played at being small tamed gardens; the concrete way roads supplanted grass, wild flowers, bosky paths". The audience is able to see that change has occured within Cardiff due to the word "supplanted" within the text. Also from the words, "wild flowers" we are able to make the link of that associating with Abse' son. He is wild and uncontrollable like the flowers that use to grow in the outskirts and further more links on to the part of poem where Abse states his maturity will soon switch on, like how the flowers and grass was replaced too.
From within the second stanza we are able to make the link to the Larkin poem of Dockery and Son with the phrase, "I was like that". Within this line we see the relationship between the father and son and links into Larkins poem for that is the key theme held within it. They are both alike within their youth at the time. Further on within this stanza we get the impression of Abse perhaps talking about the struggles that his son is facing with going into that age of becoming mature and is uncertain with it all due to the word "Nowhere". He brings out a negative aspect to this stanza and gives the audience a sense that his son is beginning to see the change that is to occur with him when he begins to grow up.
Within the last stanza we also get the impression that the persona is remembering how it was for him when the reality of being mature came into his life and allows us to link into the poem Reference Back by Larkin. This poem is able to link into it for it represents a sense of loss and this poem links into that theme with how the boy will soon lose his sense of fun and imagination and begin to get the mature adult life that is coming his way. It also could link to this poem for the mother listened to music to remember her youth and we see in this poem that the persona is remembering his youth with looking at his own son.