Parents’ love and concern for their children are universal and timeless.
The father’s love for his child is clear, as is his feeling of helplessness in the face of her illness. He wants the best for her but is painfully aware that he cannot spare her this pain. Therefore, he feels weighed down by the mixture of love and concern: ‘She who has always seemed so light’ now hangs from his arms almost like a burden.
Collections
This poem would fi t comfortably into a collection of poems about parenting or love.
This poem perfectly combines love and concern. The father looks down at the helpless child in his arms and feels that his child ‘hangs upon my life’. The child feels a ‘weariness’ because she is fi ghting illness, but the parent shares this feeling as he worries about his little daughter.
1. A friend asks you to tell him/her what this poem is about. Write what you would say. (10)
2. The speaker in this poem compares his sick child to a ‘drenched, drowned bee’. Do you think this is an effective comparison? Explain your answer with reference to the poem.
(10)
3. Imagine that the speaker in this poem kept a diary. Write a diary entry in which he expresses his thoughts and feelings about his baby’s illness.
4. ‘This poem captures the essence of what it is to be a parent.’ Do you agree? Write a short piece explaining your point of view with reference to the poem.
