The poem “Men at Forty” by Donald Justice is about the lives of men as they age and reflect on life. The character in the poem describes the aging process as a man becomes more aware of the stages in which he grows and lives. The poem also expresses the need to take responsibility for one's life so that it does not slip away without warning. Ultimately, Justice uses the poetic devices of the image to develop an ironic and ambiguous vision of the forty-year-old man who represents the aging process from childhood to adulthood. The use of imagery is used right in the first stanza, “the doors in the room where they will not/ will return” (lines 3-4). The images are used to explain the changes that occur in older men who can no longer do what a younger mind and body can do. The choices you make in your forties are often very different from those of a younger man. As the character reflects on what was once okay, he realizes that those ideas are now seen as childish and unimportant. Doors represent the image of moving forward in life, when one door closes, another opens to the next new door. It's always there...