1. Think of someone you love. If you had to pick one memory that captures their spirit and personality, what memory would you pick and why?
2. Do you find it difficult to picture older people as having once been young? 3. Can you imagine being old yourself one day? What would this feel like?
COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING 1. What is your impression of the father in this poem? Give reasons for your answer.
2. Did you expect to learn Kennelly’s father had passed away? Were there any clues to indicate this before stanza three?
3. How do you interpret the line: ‘Mind and body broken’? 4. Why, in your opinion, is it so important for Kennelly to find the ‘unbroken man’? 5. Could the phrase ‘the dance’ be a metaphor and, if so, a metaphor for what?
6. The title of the poem and the last line of the poem are the same. What effect does this repetition have on the reader?
7. What, in your opinion, is the theme of this poem?
CREATING
1. Write a speech for a public speaking contest suggested by this quotation from Leon Trotsky: ‘Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man.’
2. Write an article for a national newspaper entitled: ‘Ireland must cherish and value its older citizens.’
3. Write a short story in which we meet a central character once in their youth and once in old age.
