The following version of this poem was used to create this guide: Collins, Billy. “On Turning Ten.” Poeticous, https://www.poeticous.com/billy-collins/on-turning-ten.

Note that all parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the lines of the poem from which the quotations are taken.

“On Turning Ten” was originally intended as a satire of the traditional birthday poetry, sometimes referred to as “midlife crisis poems,” that have been popular throughout history. These poems usually focus on a milestone birthday, with the poet looking back with nostalgia (and a touch of melodrama) at their lost youth. Collins’ poem pokes fun at this tradition while also uncovering deeper themes of imagination, creativity, childhood wonder, and growth. It also appears beside his own milestone birthday poem, “Fiftieth Birthday Eve” in the same collection, which can be seen as the opposing side of the same idea or even the same narrator. Billy Collins has publicly said that he wrote his first poem at ten years old.

The poem follows a child on or nearing their tenth birthday. The idea fills them with apprehension, revulsion, and a feeling of loss. They reflect on the magical, uncomplicated years that have led up to this moment, and the new reality of the life stretched out ahead of them.