Pattern 5: Elegy for My Father, Who Is Not Dead

"I don't think he's right. He's ready. I am not." lines 13-14

In this poem, the son and the father have two completely different views on death. The father sees death as a great opportunity. He will be able to start a new life in the presence of God. The son sees death as the ultimate end. He thinks that once he dies, that is it. Their views on immortality are different too. The father believes in a spiritual immortality, where as the son believes in a physical one.  There differences are clearly conveyed throughout the poem in lines such as, "he's ready. I am not." and "I don't think he is right." Although the tone seems to be pessimistic, I think the son will greatly miss the father when he dies. "I can't just say good-bye as cheerfully as if he were embarking on a trip," conveys that he doesn't know how to handle death. Through the son's description of the father's attitude, it seems that the father has been attempting to teach his son how to see death as a "new desire." But, the son cannot grasp the concept of afterlife.