Poem at 39 Flashcards
How I miss my father
Tone, sad longing reflective and grieving
I wish
She wishes he’d worked less and spent more time with them
So tired
Emphasise how hard he worked to provide for his family structure- line alone
Writing deposits, slips and checks
Financial semantic field- responsible with money, because he doesn’t have a lot to provide his family with a secure future
Must
Modal verb, has a vague memory of her dad (assumption)
Bits of paper
Important: money could refer to poets writing as an escape from her life and childhood from financial struggles.
To escape
Verb, suggests her dad was trapped in his life she has gratitude for him and respect for his selflessness
He taught me
Repetition, she felt her father was a role model who she admires and respects his guidance
Telling the truth did not alwalys mean a beating
Her father is gentile and it implies other men would’ve hit females
Must have grieved him
They may have disagreed when she criticised black men’s abuse and possibly her interacial marriage afraid for her safety.
How I miss my father!
Refrain: emphaises how often she misses her father and how she misses him regularly
Cooked like a person dancing
Simile, calm as he cooks suggests his skills as a cook and deliberate movements like a dancer
Craved the voluptuous sharing
Symbolises he’s generous with his love despite differences this love bonds them
Now I look and cook
Assonance, time marker she’s become more like him as she grows older
Tossing
Present tense, she’s focusing less on past more on how he’s with her now as she’s become so much like him
Seasoning none of my life the same way twice
Metaphorical, she lives a spontaneous varied life a stimulating life in contrast to her father having to work everyday constantly tired
Would
Modal verb, sad and nostalgic she’s proud of herself
Cooking, writing, chopping wood
Listing, practical strong, creative
