Stanza-wise Explanation

Stanza 1 — Rationalism

"When did my childhood go? / Was it the day I ceased to be eleven..."

The speaker asks when his childhood left him and offers his first guess: perhaps it went the day he stopped being eleven and realised, through reasoning, that Hell and Heaven could not be found in Geography — that is, they were not real places one could locate on a map. This dawning of logical, questioning thought marks the arrival of rationalism, the moment a child begins to test old beliefs against reason.

Stanza 2 — Hypocrisy

"...adults were not / all they seemed to be, / They talked of love and preached of love, / But did not act so lovingly..."

Here the speaker wonders whether childhood ended when he first saw the hypocrisy of adults. Grown-ups spoke about love and preached about love, yet their actions did not match their words. Recognising this gap between what adults say and what they do is another painful step away from a child's trusting innocence.

Stanza 3 — Individuality

"Was it when I found my mind was really mine, / To use whichever way I choose..."

The speaker now considers whether childhood went the day he discovered that his mind was truly his own — free to be used as he wished, "Producing thoughts that were not those of other people / But my own, and mine alone." This awakening of individuality and independent thinking is the third possible moment his innocence gave way to a separate, adult self.

Stanza 4 — The Conclusion

"Where did my childhood go? / It went to some forgotten place, / That's hidden in an infant's face..." …