My Papa's Waltz
The whiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.
In class today, my group and I were discussing the father in the poem. Some of us believed that Roethke, (or the character he made up,) is being physically abused by his father. Others chose not to believe that, and to believe that well, they were actually waltzing.
I happen to think that to believe that Roefke is writing a happy poem about just waltzing with his father as a child, and the feeling of being naive to his father's drunkenness, is deluded. I mean, sure, i get a BIT that this poem could just be about how when the narrator was young, he did not understand what being drunk meant. He had thought that his father was merely acting a little off tonight. But who's to question? You're young, right?
Let me tell you-that's not how that happens. I know on an intimate level that even when you're very young, you understand that something is wrong when a member of your family is drunk. You understand that the drawl, the bloodshot eyes, the inept care of others, is not normal. You understand that it's wrong, even if you badly don't want it to be wrong.
And so, no, I don't think that this is a happy poem. You can tell just by the tone of the poem, can't you? It has a sad, mellow feel.
But do i think it's about abuse? Not necessarily. I was outraged in class today when a classmate said that, "of course the dad beat him up, he's drunk. It's what drunk people do." That's so not true. There are many different ways that you respond to intoxication.
However, from the tone of the poem-It is about abuse. The lines, "You beat time on my head," and "At every step you missed/ my right ear scraped a buckle," can be hints at the fact that he was abused.
OR, they could just be literal. Actual, with no meaning behind the words. But that almost violates the laws of poetry, huh.
This poem sure is mysterious. That's almost what i don't like about it, it reminds me of myself in too many ways.
I myself write poetry to be interpreted in many different ways, but often find that it just turns out confusing or weird.
But maybe me and Roethke have something else in common: It's hard for us to let out our emotions plainly. It would hurt too much.
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist
Was battered on one knuckle;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.
In class today, my group and I were discussing the father in the poem. Some of us believed that Roethke, (or the character he made up,) is being physically abused by his father. Others chose not to believe that, and to believe that well, they were actually waltzing.
I happen to think that to believe that Roefke is writing a happy poem about just waltzing with his father as a child, and the feeling of being naive to his father's drunkenness, is deluded. I mean, sure, i get a BIT that this poem could just be about how when the narrator was young, he did not understand what being drunk meant. He had thought that his father was merely acting a little off tonight. But who's to question? You're young, right?
Let me tell you-that's not how that happens. I know on an intimate level that even when you're very young, you understand that something is wrong when a member of your family is drunk. You understand that the drawl, the bloodshot eyes, the inept care of others, is not normal. You understand that it's wrong, even if you badly don't want it to be wrong.
And so, no, I don't think that this is a happy poem. You can tell just by the tone of the poem, can't you? It has a sad, mellow feel.
But do i think it's about abuse? Not necessarily. I was outraged in class today when a classmate said that, "of course the dad beat him up, he's drunk. It's what drunk people do." That's so not true. There are many different ways that you respond to intoxication.
However, from the tone of the poem-It is about abuse. The lines, "You beat time on my head," and "At every step you missed/ my right ear scraped a buckle," can be hints at the fact that he was abused.
OR, they could just be literal. Actual, with no meaning behind the words. But that almost violates the laws of poetry, huh.
This poem sure is mysterious. That's almost what i don't like about it, it reminds me of myself in too many ways.
I myself write poetry to be interpreted in many different ways, but often find that it just turns out confusing or weird.
But maybe me and Roethke have something else in common: It's hard for us to let out our emotions plainly. It would hurt too much.
Hmm... very good points there Ana. You did a very amazing job of elaborating on and developing your ideas. Also, you maintained a powerful or maybe forceful tone throughout.
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