Ode to Holden Caulfield

An actual ode to Holden Caulfield, the iconic protagonist from J.D. Salinger's novel, The Cather in the Rye.

Ode to Holden Caulfield

I'm not even going to mention that term you scattered so ubiquitously throughout your memoir

It's pretentious to bring it up, like I'm trying to prove something

I mean, why would anyone who claims to be a so-called devotee fall into the trap of perpetuating the hypocrisy you so profusely railed against

Your fierce, but misplaced and naive attempts at integrity fall short everywhere … but in that field … and on the edge of that cliff

              f

                f

That is where you find yourself and your genuine purpose
You save the innocent from corruption

That is a noble cause

That is where,

despite your upbringing and your awkward attempts at acculturation,

you find an escape

 

That is where,

despite your prodigious flaws and your insolence to all that is holy,

you find redemption

OK. I'll say it �" Everyone is a phony. But the real phonies are the ones who don't even know it

Like Stradlater in the back of Ed Banky's car