Once Upon a Time

The phrase “Once upon a time” frames the past almost like a fairy tale, suggesting that genuine human connection now feels distant or even unreal. “Laugh with their hearts” and “eyes” implies emotional unity, where inner feeling and outward expression were aligned. This establishes sincerity as something holistic, not performative, immediately setting up the contrast with the present.

The word “teeth” is carefully chosen over “lips” or “mouth.” Teeth are associated with biting, ripping, and danger; think of lions and wolves baring their teeth not in friendliness but in warning. A smile showing teeth can signal pleasure, but it can also signal threat. Someone can laugh in your face while planning to betray you. The metaphor “ice-block-cold eyes” implies more than lack of warmth. Ice is rigid and lifeless, suggesting that emotional responsiveness has been replaced with calculation. The alliteration of “ice-block cold” in the original echoes the hard sound of cold itself. “Search behind my shadow” suggests suspicion and material evaluation: what can they get from me? Human interaction becomes transactional, reinforcing societal distrust and loss of authenticity.

“Shake hands with their hearts” represents trust and sincerity embedded in simple gestures. The repetition of past-tense phrasing emphasizes permanence of loss. “That’s gone” is blunt and final, showing that this shift is not temporary but systemic.

The metaphor "search my empty pockets" exposes hidden motives. The handshake, traditionally a sign of trust, is now paired with opportunism. The detail of “left hands” implies secrecy and dishonesty, suggesting that exploitation occurs simultaneously with politeness. Relationships are reduced to economic assessment, linking directly to materialistic societal values.

The repetition of polite phrases reveals performative hospitality. The numerical progression “once, twice… no thrice” mimics a pattern of conditional acceptance. The sudden closure of doors exposes how quickly inclusion turns into exclusion once the speaker is deemed unworthy. This reflects a society governed by utility rather than genuine connection.

The simile "like dresses" suggests identity is something worn and changed depending on context, implying loss of a stable self. The listing of different “faces” shows fragmentation of identity across social spaces. The simile "like a fixed portrait smile" conveys stiffness and artificiality, where expression is controlled and frozen rather than natural. The speaker is no longer authentic but curated.

Notice the shift in pronoun here. In the first three stanzas the speaker used "they", positioning himself as a victim of other people's fakeness. From this stanza onward, the pronoun shifts to "I." The repetition of "I have learned," "I have also learned" is a form of confession and self-accusation: he is not better than the people he described. He is one of them. The repetition of "heart" throughout the poem, laughing with hearts, shaking hands with hearts, then without hearts, marks the accumulation of heartlessness that has become the world's defining quality.

The repetition of polite phrases exposes language as a tool of deception. Words are detached from meaning, turning communication into performance. This deepens the theme of appearance vs reality, where even speech is no longer trustworthy.

“Muting things” suggests that societal behaviour suppresses genuine emotion and expression. The desire to “unlearn” implies that insincerity is acquired, not natural, reinforcing the contrast between childhood innocence and adult corruption.

The simile "like a snake’s bare fangs" closes the "teeth" imagery of the poem with its most disturbing form. Snakes are the universal symbol of deception: the serpent in the Garden of Eden deceived Eve, and from then on the snake has carried the meaning of the liar, the traitor, the one who smiles while planning harm. When the speaker looks in the mirror and sees fangs, he sees a liar. The mirror introduces self-awareness: he recognizes that his outward expression no longer reflects his inner self. The transformation is complete and disturbing, as he has become what he once despised.

The ending reverses authority, placing the child as the source of truth. The repetition of “show me” conveys desperation. Returning to “Once upon a time” reinforces that sincerity now feels unreachable, closing the poem with unresolved longing.