My papa's waltz

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'scountenance
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 palmcaked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

“My Papa’s Waltz” by Theodore Roethke is a poem about a dad who just got off from work and had drunk whisky. He washaving a joyful time with his son with whom he was dancing. Due to his drunkenness, the dad could not keep all of his steps; he was bumping with the pans and making them fall. In addition to that, the momseemed to disagree about it, but she probably did not say anything because the kid was enjoying the time with his dad. Even though there were some brusque movements that may “hurt” the child, thechild would not let go. Moreover, the dad seemed to be a hard working man by his dirty and battered hands, but it was also evident he had drunk too much. In conclusion, the literal meaning of the poem wasjust a depiction of how a kid was having a cheerful moment with his dad before being put to bed.
The poem also has an underlying meaning. I believe it is the strength of paternal love. Despitethe father’s drunkenness that causes the child to bump and hit himself, the child still “clings” to him. That may demonstrate how the kid needs his father; how he loves him regardless of how drunk heis. It seems that his father does not spend a lot of time with the kid due to work; he seems to be like a laborer or a field worker. That’s why the child treasures that moment he spends with his dadso much. The author portraits the father with harmless drunkenness but I believe this may affect the child negatively. The child adores and possibly admires his father, but a drunk man is no good...