I chose the poem “Eating Together” for this month’s Pick a Poet blog because it was short and sweet. Like all the other poems I have read by Lee, this one is also about family. The poem starts with a description of trout and it being “seasoned with slivers of ginger,/two sprigs of green onion, and sesame oil” for the family to eat with rice. So far in the poem, no hidden message or deeper meaning shows, but as the poem progresses, it seems to bring light to the underlying theme of how life changes as time goes on.
Specifically, in this poem, the change in their lives is their father dying shortly before, but despite them losing their father, they have managed to move on with their lives and keep them in their memories and thoughts, by which the mother hold[s] it between her fingers/deftly, the way my father did/weeks ago.” Lee shows the reader how although death brings sadness, the little things that remind one of their loved ones can brighten their mood and make the grieving somewhat easier.
Then the end of the poem, it changes scenes to show the father who has recently passed “he lay[ing] down/to sleep like a snow-covered road/winding through pines/older than him,/without any travelers, and lonely for no one.” Here Lee alludes to the fact that no one in his family has died before his father, by which his father is lonely in heaven. Although this verse is about his father being lonely in heaven, it connects to Lee and his family also being lonely since their father has left them.
Overall, this poem has a sad tone that although they seem to be moving on and still doing their family activities, the pain and sadness of their father’s death is still there. Like many of Lee’s other poems, this poem invites the reader to relate to him and his family, as the death of a loved one is, unfortunately, something that most people have gone through. Here Lee describes ways that they have moved on while keeping their father in their heart, which is quite relatable as although grief and moving on is different for everyone, most find little ways to remember their family members in day-to-day occurrences.
That is a sad poem. Though it is true that family lessens the pain of another family member's passing. Often times when someone dies who is close to your heart, you typically spend much more quality with those who are close to you to remind yourself that although someone close to you passed, you are not still alone in this world. Rather friends and family are there to fill in the void left behind my someone who passes.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that poem sounds very sad. I like that you picked one "short and sweet" because poets often write short poems that end up being packed with a deeper, underlying message once their few lines of writing are analyzed. Grief is definitely a relatable topic and it seems like the poet does a great job of highlighting that.
ReplyDeleteThis poem sounds really, really sad. I do agree that grieving the loss of a family member is certainly easier with your family around, as it helps to be close to those who you hold dearest, but this poem seems to do a really good job encompassing what grief feels like. It often feels like the emotions you feel while grieving can't quite be put into words, but this does a great job of capturing that emotion.
ReplyDelete-Bella