My Father's Life

I identify with the distance felt between father and child. Like Carver's father, my own father has worked hard all of his life and unfortunately this has taken away from time spent with me. The disconnection between father and son was conveyed through the tone of the piece. The author used such a dry, factual tone. It was almost as if he fully accepted the relationship he had with his father, imperfections and all. It was what it was. I found it particularly powerful when he wrote a poem about father after his father's death. This was the first point in the essay in which he exposes his perception of his father. I feel that the theme of this piece is unconditional love. Although he didn't always respect his father and his father's choices, Carver still loved and cared for him. I believe Carver wrote this piece to sort out his feelings about his father and get down on paper his their relationship. He wrote this to remember and understand.

Life

Life is full of fun
Let's celebrate this moment
As it shall pass soon

I like this haiku because it takes a positive look at life, but at the same time acknowledges that it is temporary. This poem says that one should celebrate this moment. Too often I find myself focused on the future. I fear that this focus is causing me to miss the present. The present is too often ignored and this poem reminds us that we need to enjoy it because it is only here for the moment.

Boyfriends

        I found this essay very relatable. I identified with the slow progression of the author's relationship with her boyfriend. I had similar experiences in middle school. For me, middle school was a time when you had your friend tell your boyfriend that he could hold your hand on the way to the bus stop.  I also identified with how awkward a first kiss can be. My first "serious" boyfriend and I waited a while to kiss and when we did, it was . . .  horrible. You would think he was trying to see how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop. I was throughly disgusted by my first experience and similarly to the author, I much preferred the emotional side of the relationship before we had kissed.  I was able to relate and enjoy this essay because it felt very conversational. I believe that the writer's theme is about relationships and how they evolve as one evolves and grows as a person.