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In my life I have read many fiction and non fiction books, but not a lot of poetry. Reading to me is about the story and the unfolding of the characters in the writing. Generally poems did not have enough content to hold my interest. As I have grown older my taste for literature has changed in some ways, like when I read these three poems I was able to us my imagination much like many books I read, I could visualize the events that were taking place. In my youth this was not the case, I could not relate to them. Life teaches us many things and as a reader I can draw upon the lessons I have learned to be able to relate to them now.

In “My Father’s Hat” by Mark Irwin the mood of the poem to me is happy and reminiscent. This is a feel good poem about a boy who had lost his father to his

“fabulous sleep” and enters his closet of hats to revisit memories jarred by smell and touch.

The smells and touch take him to another place and time, of good thoughts of his father and the images those senses bring back to him. The devices used in this poem are Imagery and

Metaphor. An example of Imagery would be when he says “I would reach high into his closet while standing on a chair and tiptoeing reach higher”. I could actually see this event unfolding as this boy dragged the chair into the closet so he could rummage through the highest parts of the closet to find the items that hold the best memories. The metaphor example would be “I was in a forest, wind hymning through the pines”. This to me means he pictured himself in the forest and the wind was blowing like a song(hymning).

The next poem “Those Winter Sunday’s” by Robert Hayden sets a mood of being somber and regretful . This to me is a man reflecting on the thankless job of being...

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...cracked from the work week. While I was young I did take for granted all that my father did for us, and when I was fourteen he passed that is when I finally realized just how important he was to our family and to me. Even more now do I understand the sacrifices he made, I am a parent and make those sacrifices for my child.

I really can relate to many aspects of all three poems in “My Father’s Hat” I draw upon my sense of smell and remember things of my father. The smell of cigarettes and the cologne he would always wear. In “My Papa’s Waltz” I remember when my father would come home intoxicated and be rough and tumble with us. Never intentionally to harm, but unable to control his physicality when he was inebriated. Three very different very unique poems about fathers. I’m glad I had this project because it has opened my mind to different types of literature.