My Papa's Waltz

I liked this very short poem. As I was reading it I imagined a young boy standing on his father's feet and hanging on tightly while dancing. Apparently the father decided to have a nightcap first, "The whiskey on your breath" (1). The words used in this poem allow for the description of the father as a hard laborer, "Was battered on one knuckle"(10). Lines 15 and 16 make it clear that it was time for bed whether the boy was ready or not, "Still clinging to your shirt"(16). I can look at this poem in two ways. Either the boy just did not want to go to bed or he was clinging to his fathers shirt out of freight because his father was really drunk.
JenN