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A Ten Year Elegy

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Tim J Brennan

A Ten Year Elegy

Post by Tim J Brennan » Sun May 26, 2019 8:30 pm

Father died at seventy-nine,
seventy-one if one counts
remembering the sun—

his too short life
seemed lots of fun.

Handsome as Lucifer, bright
as another morning, big words
spilled with ease from his mouth—

father died at seventy-nine
on an evening after a glass of wine.

One night I found him sitting alone,
weeping. God’s found me out
is all he could muster—

father died at seventy-one,
his too short life seemed lots of fun.

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Tracy Mitchell
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Joined: Sun Jan 07, 2018 3:58 pm

Re: A Ten Year Elegy

Post by Tracy Mitchell » Thu Jun 20, 2019 4:34 pm

Tim,

An interesting and challenging poem.  It has three three-line stanzas with three two-line stanzas interspersed.  

My working theory is that the Speaker’s father had some form of dementia – thus the difference between the 79 and the 71.  

The recurring phrase – “his too short line seemed lots of fun” is so much at odds with the somber tone of the balance of the poem.  I am struggling to make proper sense of it.

The son’s description of the father in S. 3 is brilliant.  It says so much in so few words.   

The father crying, “God’s found me out”, is incredibly powerful.  It is the drama of the poem, I think.

Thanks for posting this, and I will be back many times, I think.

Cheers.

T

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