Melt

[billy]

i think you have just the right amount of ambiguity. at first i saw nothing then with each read it opened up a little more and i could put my slant on the bones of the poem.

Thank you all for your interesting perspectives on this poem.  If it were more clearly spelled out, it would no longer be the poem it ought to be, and this discussion indicates that all the required clues are indeed there.  This, more than anything else, is the value of a workshop.

"Melt" is what happens to fat as it releases its energy.  After a while, the same thing will happen to vital organs.

A child in this situation grows old quickly; parents in this situation, conversely, tend to act like children.  Caleb, it's 2016.  People born in 1995 are 21 this year -- and some of them are plenty old enough, and selfish enough, to have children.  

I expect I will return to the original ricochet line.  The second last line is just a placeholder for the moment as it doesn't exactly convey what I want it to, but it is closer than it was, so I will keep thinking about it.  

I appreciate all your comments, thank you again.