“Photograph of my Father in his Twenty-second year”

This poem by Raymond Carver is about a child looking at old pictures of his father. I get a sense that it is a son even though there is no proof in the poem. I believe that the “unfamiliar kitchen” is because they might have had a falling out with each other so the son/daughter maybe came back for a funeral or an occasion that they couldn’t miss.
This poem also gives me the sense that the child knows that their father tried really hard to do well in life and “be bold”, but no matter what he did the liquor kept him down. Also the last three lines that say “…Father, I love you, / yet how can I say thank you, I who can’t hold my liquor either, / and don’t even know the places to fish?” Means to me that they don’t blame him but they cannot thank him either because that is all that they saw growing up so that is what they are doing also. This goes to show that no matter what you say your actions always speak louder to children. You cannot tell them to do one thing and then do something different yourself. They learn by your actions.

This poem reminds me of another poem that I have up on my wall at work. The poem is called “When you thought I wasn’t looking” by Mary Rita Schilke Korzanut it talks about all the little things a parent does that they my not think matters to a child, but it teaches them life long skills in the end.