Stinky Fish!

I love this poem because it's straight to the point, really. We can't be someone we're not. Simple as that. As the father is pictured in this way, it's his eye's that give him away. "But the eyes give him away..."(11). The narrator (boy or girl we don't know for sure) has found this out about his father. That in his 22nd year, he tried to be someone he wasn't. He was trying to figure out who he was. That's something we all do, some find out right away, for some it takes a little while. We need to find our personal identity in this world. So often I've seen this in my life. Someone trying to act, think, look, talk, or be like something that isn't natural. Yet, in a way, I understand how they can do that because like I said, they're still testing the waters to see what fits them just right. It seems the person telling this little story is sad that their father isn't able to hold a beer and string of fish. "yet how can I say thank you..."(14), this person wishes that their father was different, I suppose because he or she wants him to like in the picture. How the father is now has passed to the son or daughter and they are not happy with that. But really, it shouldn't matter to much because the son or daughter, even thought they are flesh and blood and will have some qualities passed down, will still be their own self. They, too, are going to have to find their personal identity. "All his life my father wanted to be bold"(10) Why is being bold such a big deal? I'm sure there are tons of other things the father is good at, I hope he was able to figure them out.