Thumbs
Thumbs - meaning Summary
Private Comfort, Public Judgment
The poem presents a childlike defense of thumb-sucking from an insider speaker. It acknowledges how a thumb may appear "wrinkled and wet," yet insists the taste is privately irresistible. The tone is playful and affectionate, turning a behavior often judged as shameful into a source of comfort and shared secret knowledge among thumb-suckers. The short lyric emphasizes sensory pleasure and solidarity over social disapproval.
Read Complete AnalysesOh, the thumb-sucker's thumb May look wrinkled and wet And withered, and white as the snow, But the taste of a thumb Is the sweetest taste yet (As only we thumb-suckers know).
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