My Papa's Waltz: By: Theodore Roethke

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's countenance 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 palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt            When I first read this poem, I had the idea that the author was trying to express the theme of child abuse through his poetry. I believed that the author purposely wrote this poem in a way that seemed calm, but had a darker story behind it that he wanted you to think more deeply about.            But after reading the poem again and again, I realized that the author was being literal about the, "Waltz". "The whiskey on your breath could make a small boy dizzy.", This whole time, I thought that the author was implying that, the father in the poem was drunk. But if you really think about it, there is no proof that the father is drunk.            "We romped until the pans slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance could not un-frown itself", This whole time, I thought that this meant that the father was still drunk and without realizing, he destroyed the kitchen.            I believe that this poem is basically just about a father and son, waltzing around the house. They are just playing around. The father is so clumsy that, he knocks down a bunch of pans accidently. although the father didn't mean to, the other probably was upset simply about the mess. The father isn't the best dancer which probably explains why he had missed so many steps while dancing. So, this poem could be about two things. A father and son, playfully waltzing around their home, or a drunk father who abuses his own son without realizing it.