The Young Ones (Theme)

What is "The Young Ones" about?

Cross out the ones which don´t capture the essence of the poem:

-Travelling by bus
-commuters
-observing and being observed
-being young or old
-Youth today and in the past
-being bold or unsure

The Young Ones

Credit: Wikimedia Commons

In this poem, the speaker watches some teenagers get on the bus where she is travelling. Some aspects of them catch her attention, because they contrast with her present self and also with the way she used to be when she was their age. By looking at them, she reflects on boldness and insecureness.

They slip on to the bus, hair piled up high.
New styles each month, it seems to me. (...)

In the first line, the persona describes the young ones succinctly. The words she uses suggest she admires them. Firstly,  she presents them by their smooth movements, evoked by the word “slip”. Secondly, she comments on their hairstyle, which, in her view, seem to be different every month.