Reutrn to Cardiff by Daniel Abse

Return to Cardiff by Daniel Abse
The poem is about the poets return to his hometown, where he grew up. The poem has a slightly negative tone as it explores the journey from childhood to adulthood, where the poet doesn't feel at home anymore, in fact it feels 'alien and bleak.'
                       'Hometown'; well, most admit an affection for a city; grey, tangled streets'
The first stanza takes the reader back to the poet's childhood where he has his 'First everything' including his first cigarette an first 'botched love affair.' It appears that Cardiff holds the majority of Abse's memories, which could possibly be regretful memories.The use of a short sentence and caesura 'First everything' makes it sound significant, which reinforces the importance of his childhood memories.
                         'The journey to Cardiff seemed less a return than a raid'
The second stanza portrays a sense of decay in the poets hometown of Cardiff. The journey seemed 'less a return than a raid' which suggests how the poet was naive when he was younger, now he is grown up he realises the reality of life. The 'mislaid identities' could suggest that the poet feels out of place and different to the people surrounding him, he could feel like a stranger in his own hometown.
The poet then describes how the 'whole locus [is] smaller' which could imply that as a child he saw everything as exciting, but now he sees things as they are, which isn't always great.
                              'Unfocused voices in the wind, associations, clues, odds and ends' 
The opening of stanza three begins with images of 'Unfocused voices in the wind, associations, clues, odds and ends' which creates confusion. The poet may be talking about his past memories where he has found a new perspective, finding out the truth about his childhood memories because he was too naive and young to realise before. By using the word 'voices' makes the individual have a lack of identity, unfamiliar to Abse. 'Odds and ends' also makes Cardiff appear different to how it used to be, it's not the same place anymore.                         
                                  'Unable to define anything I can hardly speak'
The idea of disappointment is reinforced in the fourth stanza as the poet is 'unable to define anything' which suggests how unfamiliar his hometown has become. Yet he 'still [loves] the place for what it used to be' which strengthens the idea of his memories when he was younger. The poet is ashamed of his hometown, it is presented as a place full of disappointment and displeasure, in fact it has become 'alien and bleak.' 
                             'Illusory, too, lost dark playground after rain' 
Abse used the word 'illusory' when describing some memories and childlike factors. By using this word it makes it seem like his whole childhood was just an illusion, now the poet is grown up he understands the disappointment that life can bring and could argue that his happy childhood memories was just a figure of his imagination.