Thursday, April 4, 2013

"The Gift", by Li-Young Lee


The Gift is an emotional and intimate poem between father and son. It depicts the relationship between father and son by connecting what may be a painful situation resulted in a loving and calm outcome.  The young boy in this poem felt closer to his father and had an experience that can never be erased.  The young boy in this poem had a splinter stuck in his finger, as his father removes it, a story is being told to him by his father which soothes the young boy.  The boy was also impressed by his father’s amiable and tender touch, which took his attention away from the pain of the splinter.  The boy described his father as being patient, and loving not only to him but with his mother as well.  In the poem the significance of “Voice” expressed a lot of emotion.  His father’s “Voice”, would instill a love in the child that would always resonate with him.  The poet emphasize “Voice”, which was a symbolism of the poem because, “Voice” expressed “masculinity”, “Sternness”, and “Security”.  A child would always have those feeling towards their father “Voice”, because of how it sound, and most of all because we tend to know by nature a father’s “voice” is not to be afraid of but to feel security, and no harm.  I can relate to this poem because I perceive my father to be my “Hero”, especially when I was looking for security.  In conclusion, “The Gift” represented what most of us take for granted can actually be a gift for us; it may not be a physical gift but a gift that’s instilled in us.

1 comment:

  1. I also found the poem very nostalgic and encouraging. I guess what I saw that stood out to me was how the poet's perception of hands was changed by that one memory. The hands are everywhere. His fathers hands are gentle and loving and at other times are "flames of discipline," then his hands as a child are the ones being taken care of; and finally his hands as an adult are healing his wife's hands.

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