Blond Boys

'Blond Boys' by Abse is about his first love and the rejection he faced from her. It also shows a memory of when they were at school and how he acted when she was around. Therefore, I believe that the main themes in this poem are love, time and rejection.
One of the things that I found interesting about this poem was the way that Abse has shown time passing from the last time he saw Eva Jones. This can be seen in "small blond grandson". This shows that it has been many years since they last met but also that Eva Jones fell in love with someone that isn't the persona. Time passing can also be seen in "Eva Jones, remember me? My acne. Your dimples". This suggests that although all this time has passed Abse still cares for Eva and remembers the finer details about her such as her dimples. I also believe that it is childhood where they were met through the line "first shy love" which suggests that she was his childhood sweetheart. This idea can also be seen in "I held my breath" which could suggest that he adored her and did not know what to do when she was around. It can also suggest that he was too shy to talk to her.
I believe that 'Blond Boys' can link to 'Wild Oats' through the idea of rejection and idealisation. This can be seen in 'Blond Boys' through the quote "I prefer, um, blond boys beside" which suggests that Eva rejected him for her idealistic view of who she expected to be with which can link to 'Wild Oats' through Larkin's idealistic view of women.