My Papa's Waltz Thoughts

 My Papa's Waltz was written by Theodore Roethke and is one of the most interesting poems I have read from our selections this semester. It is one of those poems that is short, but carries a lot of meaning with it. I tried linking this poem to Roethke's past to see if it was inspired from personal experience but I didn't find much information to match the events that occur in the poem. The only information I found about Roethke's father was that he owned a 25-acre greenhouse and died from cancer when Theodore was only fourteen (Poetry Foundation, 2015). So the events in the poem could have been fro m personal experience, but I can't say for certain.
  The poem describes a drunk father who grabs his son and continues to swing him around while trying to take him to bed. The child's mother can be considered an accomplice since she doesn't do anything accept watch what happens and the child tries to hang on tight to his father so he doesn't get hurt. To defend the mother, she probably is used to the father being drunk and knows that he gets violent and was afraid to do anything for her own safety. That is the only reason I can think of why she doesn't do anything. This is an interesting poem that I think many of you would enjoy.

  Here is the link for the source used:   http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/theodore-Roethke