Question

what is meant by,'his eyes live in a dream, of squirrel's game in a tree room other than this'?

Answer 1

The poet picks out an example from these countless slum children, that of a boy whose growth has been stunted just like his future due to possible malnutrition and lack of opportunities. He is sweet and young, yet untainted by the cynicism that will soon infect him from the monotony and unchanging quality of sad life. His eyes live in the dream of living in a world and experiencing the things that the books talk about. He dreams of squirrel's games in a tree room other than the present reality he is condemned to live in, of sour cream walls, donations, Shakespeare's head which rises cloudless at dawn. He dreams of a world where he can be a part of the march of civilization rather than barely eking out an existence.