A Death in the Family...
I don’t know if any of you have read “A Death in the Family” by James Agee…it’s a great book. I had to read it for a school project, and my assignment was to write a poem about it. To get an idea about the story, here’s a little summary:
On a sultry summer night in 1915, Jay Follet leaves his house in Knoxville, Tennessee, to tend to his father, whom he believes is dying. The summons turns out to be a false alarm, but on his way back to his family, Jay has a car accident and is killed instantly. Dancing back and forth in time and braiding the viewpoints of Jay’s wife, brother, and young son, Rufus, Agee creates an overwhelmingly powerful novel of innocence, tenderness, and loss that should be read aloud for the sheer music of its prose.
Oh, How I Wish
On a warm summer night when the air was still,
In his bedroom he was, elbows resting on the window-sill,
Head cupped in his hands, gazing out at the gentle darkness over the hill,
The moon sending shivers through his body, giving him a thrill.
He could hear the noise of the locusts as a part of the night.
He could see the street lamps providing a dim, yet clear light,
And the moon playing with shadows on the meadow to the far right.
He knew the nature had secrets, for in front of his eyes was a miraculous sight.
He is a small child with an innocent heart and mind.
In his soul, not even an ounce of evil could you find.
He is calm, sensitive, and so very kind
That to the cruelty of the world he is blind.
So young he was, how could he understand
That his father would never come back to hold his hand?
Dear father was gone, just like grains of sand
Blown away, off to another and foreign land.
“It is God who has put him to sleep”,
Was all his mother could say, and weep.
But he knew down inside, down deep,
That it wasn’t the truth he would believe and forever keep.
Standing outside “My daddy’s dead,” he said in a whisper,
While the chilly breeze made him quiver.
“My daddy’s dead,” he then said louder,
Drowned in a world that was now bitter.
He spoke out loud for someone to hear,
But there just wasn’t anybody near.
He stood there, all alone, and wiped away a tear,
Then he whispered again “Oh father dear, how I wish you were here…”
On a sultry summer night in 1915, Jay Follet leaves his house in Knoxville, Tennessee, to tend to his father, whom he believes is dying. The summons turns out to be a false alarm, but on his way back to his family, Jay has a car accident and is killed instantly. Dancing back and forth in time and braiding the viewpoints of Jay’s wife, brother, and young son, Rufus, Agee creates an overwhelmingly powerful novel of innocence, tenderness, and loss that should be read aloud for the sheer music of its prose.
Oh, How I Wish
On a warm summer night when the air was still,
In his bedroom he was, elbows resting on the window-sill,
Head cupped in his hands, gazing out at the gentle darkness over the hill,
The moon sending shivers through his body, giving him a thrill.
He could hear the noise of the locusts as a part of the night.
He could see the street lamps providing a dim, yet clear light,
And the moon playing with shadows on the meadow to the far right.
He knew the nature had secrets, for in front of his eyes was a miraculous sight.
He is a small child with an innocent heart and mind.
In his soul, not even an ounce of evil could you find.
He is calm, sensitive, and so very kind
That to the cruelty of the world he is blind.
So young he was, how could he understand
That his father would never come back to hold his hand?
Dear father was gone, just like grains of sand
Blown away, off to another and foreign land.
“It is God who has put him to sleep”,
Was all his mother could say, and weep.
But he knew down inside, down deep,
That it wasn’t the truth he would believe and forever keep.
Standing outside “My daddy’s dead,” he said in a whisper,
While the chilly breeze made him quiver.
“My daddy’s dead,” he then said louder,
Drowned in a world that was now bitter.
He spoke out loud for someone to hear,
But there just wasn’t anybody near.
He stood there, all alone, and wiped away a tear,
Then he whispered again “Oh father dear, how I wish you were here…”