This new Daks suit, greeny-brown,
Oyster-coloured buttons, single vent, tapered
Trousers, no waistcoat, hairy tweed - my own:
A suit to show responsibility, to show
Return to life - easily got for two pounds down
Paid off in six months - the first stage in the change.
I am only the image I can force upon the town.
The town will have me: I stalk in glass,
A thin reflection in the windows, best
In jewellers' velvet backgrounds - I don't pass,
The concluding line of the stanza confirms that he has created an ‘image’. The word ‘only’ is sadly significant, implying there is nothing substantial beneath it. Morever, he has to ‘force’ the ‘town’ to accept this image. The verb ‘force’ implies that this is not natural for him, and those he meets may not be convinced.
Metamorphosis