Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

John Frederick Nims’ “Censorship” is a strikingly brief yet devastating commentary on societal priorities, particularly in how we regulate exposure to different aspects of life. In just two lines, the poem contrasts the guarded, restricted presentation of love with the unchecked visibility of death, exposing a cruel irony in the way censorship operates. The poem’s stark simplicity enhances its power, distilling a complex critique into a couplet that is as unsettling as it is incisive.

The first line sets up the central contrast: “Love cautions, ‘Adults only!’” This phrase echoes the language of film ratings or restricted materials, suggesting that love—presumably in its romantic or sexual form—is something that must be shielded from the young. The use of the word “cautions” implies both a warning and an imposed restriction, as if love is inherently dangerous or inappropriate for those not yet deemed mature enough to handle it. The irony here is immediate: love, which is often associated with intimacy, connection, and life, is subject to regulation, treated as something that must be concealed.

The second line delivers the brutal counterpoint: “While below / Death has the children to his filthy show.” The shift from love to death is jarring, made more dramatic by the enjambment, which forces a pause before revealing the horrific truth. Unlike love, which is censored and restricted, death is freely accessible, even to children. The phrase “filthy show” is particularly striking—it evokes not just the spectacle of death but its grotesque, exploitative nature. Death, unlike love, does not issue warnings or place restrictions; it takes whoever it wants, and children, despite their supposed innocence, are among its audience—and its victims.

The poem critiques a society that is more concerned with shielding young people from love than from violence. Implicitly, it calls into question the way censorship often functions—not necessarily to protect, but to impose arbitrary moral boundaries. The notion that love must be hidden while death remains unfiltered reveals a fundamental misalignment in what we consider harmful or inappropriate. In war, poverty, and other forms of suffering, children are not spared, yet discussions of love—particularly romantic and sexual love—are often deemed unsuitable for them. The poem suggests that this prioritization is not just flawed but deeply hypocritical.

Nims’ choice to present this critique in the form of a rhymed couplet heightens its effectiveness. The tight, controlled structure contrasts with the disturbing content, reinforcing the idea that while love is bound by rules and restrictions, death follows no such order. The rhyme between “below” and “show” creates a sense of inevitability, as if to underscore that while love is regulated from above, death operates freely in the world beneath.

Ultimately, “Censorship” is a scathing, compact indictment of the way societies control and distort human experience. It exposes the absurdity of fearing love while normalizing death, forcing the reader to confront an unsettling truth: that the real obscenity is not love’s openness, but the unregulated suffering that children are forced to witness.

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