I Go Back to May 1937

“Saturn“ by Sharon Olds (1982)

This poem, published first in The Missouri Review, details an abusive father devouring his son, much like the god Saturn who does the same to his son. Like “I Go Back to May 1937,” the first-person speaker of the poem observes the abuse and tries to give the abuse meaning in order to process the abuse and recover.

“Little Things” by Sharon Olds (1987)

Like “I Go Back to May 1937,” this poem appears in The Gold Cell. The poem addresses the speaker’s struggles with their memories of an abusive father. While clearing the breakfast dishes years after the abuse took place, the speaker concentrates on the little things they love about their own children to ground themselves and find relief from their own pain.

“After 37 Years My Mother Apologizes for My Childhood” by Sharon Olds (2004)

In this poem from Strike Sparks (2004), the speaker discusses their mother’s apologies for harm done during childhood. For the speaker, their mother’s explanations cause them to re-evaluate their experience. The speaker’s process is particularly relevant to “I Go Back to May 1937,” which appears next to poems that discuss the speaker’s abuse by the mother in The Gold Cell.