DDCPoetry

Original poem reprinted online here: "What Followed Your Birth" by Hal Sirowitz Originally read: May 23, 2013 More information about the Poet: Hal Sirowitz I think this is a part of Father Said .  I bring up the collection because there's a strong observation of tone and presence from the father in this poem.  What drives this poem further is not only the father, but what the speaker is remember -- what words and combinations impact the speaker who remains silent in this poem. The poem opens up with a reference to the birthday, "You might not like being reminded /of your birthday, Father said, / but your mother & I do."  which brings confrontational elements.  Note how the speaker is just listening and is the focal point, but what version of the speaker.  There is no indication of the current age of the speaker.  Also note that the father is also speaking on behalf of the mother as well. The poem describes the speakers birth as a"happy occasion" an...

Original poem reprinted online here: "Undecided" by Hal Sirowitz Originally read: February 13, 2013 More information about the Poet: Hal Sirowitz   Past me wrote this about the last line of the poem, "The last line might be too sentimental, but I feel that this end is strong due to the ambiguous way to read the end: dismissive, genuine, desperation."  I reread and reread this poem and I understand what's going on -- a father telling his child (son) that they got him a gift of a shirt and, even though the parents has bought his son a shirt for the last three years, the father still cares.  Yes, this is where past me saw this poem as a bit sentimental because the "plot" of the poem is one of those after school special bonding moments, but for this poem, there's something else to it. The difference in the poem is this, "Father said."  This is a small big point.  The perspective of what is being said by the father is the product of the speake...

Original poem reprinted online here: "Stuck at the Beginning" by Hal Sirowitz Originally read: February 2, 2013 More information about the Poet: Hal Sirowitz I find this poem humorous because on one hand the poem mocks epigraphs or maybe old Greek Philosophy or maybe both. So the philosophical quote, "The beginning of a circle is also its end" has some serious thinking power behind the thought.  Once someone enters a circle, there's no end.  Kind of an allegory of a vicious cycle that, in general, is used to prove points like, "karma," or "history repeats itself." But the inclusion of the translator foreshadows a sense of the absurd.  Wouldn't it be good enough to just say the quote is by Herakleitos?  The inclusion of the translator shows a sense of specificity which (circularly) goes with the contents of the poem. Past me wrote, "Funny advice, but poignant.  You can't start something if you 'cant' (verses) wont, or don...