,//$:22,7

The speaker creates a Iigurative image oI her Iather, using many diIIerent metaphors to describe
her relationship with him. He's like a black shoe that she's had to live in; like a statue that
stretches across the United States; like God; like a Nazi; like a Swastika; and, Iinally, like a
vampire. The speaker, Iaced with her Iather as a giant and evil Nazi, takes the part oI a Jew and a
victim.

Yet, with this poem, the speaker gets her revenge, claiming that she's killed both her Iather and
the man she made as a model oI her Iather her husband. This poem shows her struggle to
declare that, no matter how terrible her Iather was and how much he remains in her mind, she is
now through with him.
You do not do, you do not do
Any more, black shoe
In which I have lived like a foot
For thirty years, poor and white,
Barely daring to breathe or Achoo.
O The poem starts with the speaker declaring that she will no longer put up with the black
shoe she's lived in, poor and scared, Ior thirty years.
O She uses the second person throughout the poem, saying "you," who, as we Iind out, is
"Daddy." So that means that she's comparing her Iather to a shoe that she's been living in
very unhappily but she's not going to put up with it anymore.
O This stanza reminds us oI a nursery rhyme the old woman who lived in a shoe. The
repetition oI "you do not do" in the Iirst line even makes this stanza sound a little
singsong-y. But this is no happy nursery rhyme the speaker is poor, and won't dare to
breathe or sneeze, meaning that she Ieels trapped and scared.
addy, I have had to kill you.
You died before I had time
O 1he poem no longer seems llke a nursery rhyme ln Lhls sLanza ln llne 6 Lhe speaker Lells her
faLher LhaL she has had Lo klll hlm as lf shes already murdered hlm
O uL Lhen ln llne 7 Lhe speaker says LhaL he dled before she had Llme Lhough she doesnL make
lL 100 clear lf she means Lo say before l had Llme Lo klll hlm lL could mean someLhlng llke
before l had Llme Lo geL Lo know hlm or before l could make hlm proud
O lLher way lLs shocklng LhaL our speaker clalms she had Lo klll her faLher AfLer hearlng Lhls
vlolenL senLlmenL were noL sure lf shes sad LhaL he dled or lf shes angry or whaL
Line 8
arble-heavy, a bag full of God,
O AfLer we hear LhaL Lhe speakers faLher ls dead Lhe phrase descrlblng hlm Marbleheavy
helps us lmaglne Lhe sLlff heavlness of a corpse or even a marble gravesLone
O 1he bag full of Cod could refer Lo a body bag or Lhe speaker could be saylng LhaL Lhe skln
around our bodles ls noLhlng buL a bag
O lLher way Lhe lmage of her faLher as a bag full of Cod shows her confllcLed feellngs abouL hlm
Maybe her faLher dled when she was young and he conLrolled her world a sorL of Cod over her
llfe erhaps hls deaLh caused memorles of hlm Lo have more conLrol over Lhe speakers llfe so
he seems Lo her Lo be as powerful as Cod
O JhaL ls Lhe speakers vlew of Cod anyway? ls lL poslLlve or negaLlve?
Lines 9-
Ghastly statue with one gray toe
Big as a Frisco seal

And a head in the freakish Atlantic
Where it pours bean green over blue
In the waters off beautiful Nauset.
O 1hese llnes show us LhaL Lhe phrase Marbleheavy was parLly meanL Lo seL up an lmage of Lhe
speakers faLher as a sLaLue uL hes no normal sLaLue hes ghasLly llke a gargoyle
O 1hen laLh shows us LhaL Lhls sLaLue ls humongous Cne of lLs gray Loes ls as blg as a lrlsco (as
ln San lranclsco Callfornla) seal (as ln Lhe blubbery anlmal heres a plcLure) uL lLs head ls all
Lhe way across Lhe unlLed SLaLes ln Lhe ALlanLlc
O 1he speaker descrlbes Lhe ALlanLlc as freaklsh buL lL sounds preLLy pourlng lLs waLer green as
a bean over Lhe blue of Lhe ocean 1he speaker even comes rlghL ouL and says LhaL nauseL a
reglon on Lhe shore of MassachuseLLs ls beauLlful
O 1hese llnes show us LhaL Lhe sLaLue sLreLches from coasL Lo coasL of Lhe unlLed SLaLes wlLh a Loe
ln Lhe aclflc and a head ln Lhe ALlanLlc uL remember Lhe sLaLue ls acLually Lhe lmage of Lhe
speakers dead faLher ln her head
Lines -
I used to pray to recover you.
Ach, du.
O AfLer weve goLLen Lhe lmage of Lhe faLher as a sLaLue sLreLchlng across Lhe uS Lhe speaker
says LhaL she used Lo pray Lo recover hlm 8ecover seems Lo mean regaln buL could also
lmply a second meanlng of geL healLhy agaln
O nowlng our speaker used Lo ls Lhe lmporLanL parL of our llne She doesnL pray Lo geL her
faLher back any more
O 1hen we geL down Lo llne 13and were noL speaklng ngllsh anymore ven noL knowlng
Cerman we can geL a preLLy good sense from Lhe small sounds of Lhese words LhaL lLs a sorL of
slgh 1he phrase ln Cerman acLually means Ch you
O laLhs faLher was a Cerman lmmlgranL whlch probably explalns why shes wrlLlng Lhls llLLle slgh
ln hls language when she Lhlnks of praylng Lo geL hlm back from Lhe dead Je donL know yeL lf
lLs a sad slgh or an angry slgh
Lines -8
In the German tongue, in the Polish town
Scraped flat by the roller
Of wars, wars, wars.
O now we geL more abouL Cermany Lhan [usL an exclamaLlon ln Lhe language 1he speaker ls
Lalklng abouL Lhe Cerman Longue or language buL ln a ollsh Lown LhaL has been desLroyed by
war
O uL Lhe speaker doesnL [usL say someLhlng llke desLroyed by war she says lL has been
scraped flaL by Lhe roller of wars whlch makes us Lhlnk a bulldozer and also of rolllng ouL
cookle dough unLll lLs flaL
O 1hen she repeaLs Lhe word wars Lhree Llmes glvlng us Lhe ldea LhaL Lhls place has been
flaLLened by more Lhan one war
Lines 9-
But the name of the town is common.
y Polack friend

Says there are a do:en or two.
So I never could tell where you
Put your foot, your root,
O now we flnd ouL more abouL Lhls Lown lLs name ls common 1he speakers ollsh frlend says
Lhere are a bunch of Lown ln oland wlLh Lhe same name
O ecause Lhere are so many Lowns wlLh Lhe same name Lhe speaker wlll never know where
you her faLher has puL hls fooL hls rooL Lhls probably means LhaL she ls wonderlng
where he lmmlgraLed from buL wlll never be able Lo Lell
Lines -8
I never could talk to you.
The tongue stuck in my faw.

It stuck in a barb wire snare.
Ich, ich, ich, ich,
I could hardly speak.
O 1he speaker also lamenLs LhaL she could never Lalk Lo her faLher because her Longue always
sLuck
O ven worse Lhe area where her Longue goL sLuck was llke a barb wlre snare arbed wlre ls
preLLy nasLy sLuff and would rlp a Longue Lo shreds
O 1he speaker demonsLraLes her Longue geLLlng sLuck ln Cerman repeaLlng lcb Lhe Cerman
word for l Per Longue seems Lo geL sLuck so badly LhaL she can only sLammer l l l
O Jhy dld her Longue sLlck? Jere noL sure Maybe her faLher made her nervous or scared
Maybe shes noL very good aL speaklng Cerman JhaL do you Lhlnk?
O She Lhen repeaLs LhaL she could hardly speak buL Lhe conLexL of Lhls llne seems Lo be more
general earller she sald she could hardly Lalk Lo her faLher buL now she can hardly speak aL
all
Lines 9-
I thought every German was you.
And the language obscene
O Cur LongueLled speaker ls Lelllng us LhaL she LhoughL every Cerman was her faLher and LhaL
she found hls language dlrLy and offenslve
O Maybe her Longue only goL sLuck when speaklng Cerman erhaps she goL nervous speaklng Lhe
language of her faLher Lo oLher Cermans who all seemed llke her faLher
O 1hese llnes show us LhaL Lhe speaker ls deeply dlsLurbed by memorles of her faLher She sees
hlm ln every Cerman person she comes across and Lhe assoclaLlon ls unforLunaLely a negaLlve
one
Lines -
An engine, an engine
Chuffing me off like a Jew.
A Jew to achau, Auschwit:, Belsen.
O 1here was no perlod endlng llne 30 whlch sald LhaL Lhe Cerman language was obscene so Lhe
englne ls probably a meLaphor for Lhe Cerman language
O 1hen Lhe speaker Lakes Lhe englne meLaphor furLher saylng LhaL Lhe language llke a Lraln ls
chufflng her off llke a !ew Chufflng ls an example of onomaLopoela lL uses words Lo mlmlc
Lhe sound of a Lraln
O 1he slgnlflcance of belng Laken by Lraln llke a !ew ls LhaL durlng Lhe PolocausL Lhe Cermans
Look !ews Lo concenLraLlon camps by way of Lraln 1he speaker even llsLs some Jorld Jar ll
concenLraLlon camps saylng LhaL lLs llke shes belng Laken Lo uachau AuschwlLz and elsen
uachau and elsen were ln Cermany and AuschwlLz was ln Cermanoccupled oland
O 1he speaker ls so Lerrlfled by Lhe Cerman language LhaL lL feels llke lL ls a Lraln Laklng her Lo a
horrlble mass deaLh
Lines -
I began to talk like a Jew.
I think I may well be a Jew.
O 1he speaker ls so opposed Lo Lhe Cerman language LhaL she beglns Lo Lalk llke a !ew perhaps ln
?lddlsh She even Lhlnks LhaL she may be !ewlsh
O 1hese llnes explaln LhaL Lhe speaker assoclaLes Lhe fear and Lerror of her faLher wlLh Lhe sLruggle
of Lhe !ewlsh people agalnsL Lhe Cermans lLs a vlvld and dlsLurblng meLaphor
Lines -
The snows of the Tyrol, the clear beer of Jienna
Are not very pure or true.
O 1he 1yrol ls parL of Lhe Alplne mounLaln reglon wlLh many snowcapped peaks lL borders
Cermany ln parL buL ls mosLly beLween Lhe lLallan and AusLrlan border Many dlfferenL
languages are spoken Lhere and lLs naLlonallLy ls a llLLle muddled
O Cne mlghL pass 1yrol whlle rldlng a Lraln Lhrough Cermany llke Lhe Lraln Lhe speaker lmaglnes
she ls on
O Ilenna ls Lhe caplLal of AusLrla Ilenna beer Lhough lL ls AusLrlan ln orlgln surely could be found
ln nearby Cermany So Lhe speaker ls lmaglnlng Lhlngs LhaL could be found ln urope
O 1hese llnes mlghL seem a blL confuslng buL Lry Lo Lhlnk of Lhese llnes ln Lhe conLexL of some of
Lhe PolocausL lmagery we encounLered earller 1he purlLy of snow ln 1yrol and Lhe clear look of
Ilenna beer are ln sLark conLrasL Lo Lhe dark horrors LhaL Look place nearby ln nazl Cermany
O Also purlLy ln Lhe conLexL of Lhe nazls means horrlble Lhlngs llke genoclde and Lhe quesL for
raclal purlLy
Lines 8-
With my gipsy ancestress and my weird luck
And my Taroc pack and my Taroc pack
I may be a bit of a Jew.
O Pere Lhe speaker Lalks abouL a gypsy ancesLress 1hls means LhaL one of her female ancesLors
was aL leasL flguraLlvely a gypsy
O 1hen she Lalks abouL her welrd luck whlch could relaLe Lo Lhe mysLlclsm of belng parLgypsy
as does Lhe 1aroc pack her pack of 1aroL cards whlch are used Lo Lell forLunes
O 1he repeLlLlon ln llne 39 keeps Lhe rhyLhm of Lhe llne movlng
O uL Lhen she Lles Lhese llnes Lo her susplclons LhaL she may be parL !ewlsh 1hls doesnL seem Lo
make very much sense buL lLs lmporLanL Lo remember LhaL gypsles llke !ews were kllled by
Lhe nazls durlng Lhe PolocausL because Lhey were consldered Lo be lmpure (Learn more
abouL Lhe persecuLlon of Lhe gypsles by Lhe nazls here)
O So lf Lhe nazls kllled gypsles and !ews because Lhey LhoughL Lhose people werenL pure Lhe
speaker seems Lo sarcasLlcally suggesL LhaL Lhey should have kllled Lhe snows of 1yrol or Lhe
beer of Ilenna for belng lmpure as well
Lines -
I have always been scared of you,
With your Luftwaffe, your gobbledygoo.
O now Lhe speaker swlLches back from descrlblng herself as a vlcLlm Lo addresslng her faLher
saylng LhaL shes always been scared of hlm
O 1hen she goes on Lo descrlbe her faLhers Cerman characLerlsLlcs LufLwaffe ls Lhe Cerman
word for alr force and ls speclflcally used Lo refer Lo Lhe Cerman alr force of Jorld Jar ll
O Cobbledygoo follows LufLwaffe masked as someLhlng of slgnlflcance buL lLs acLually a
nonsense word ?eL lL probably refers Lo Lhe sLrangeness of Lhe Cerman language Lo an ngllsh
speaklng llsLener
Lines -
And your neat mustache
And your Aryan eye, bright blue.
O 1he neaL musLache and blue Aryan eye descrlbe Lhe faLher physlcally and make hlm seem
very Cerman
O 1he musLache allgns her faLher wlLh PlLler whose LooLhbrushshaped musLache was
emblemaLlc
O Aryan ls a Lerm LhaL durlng Lhe nazl rlse Lo power referred Lo PlLlers perfecL race of blond
and blueeyed people who were seen as superlor Lo !ews and gypsles
O So Lhe speakers faLher ls now llke Lhe Cerman lmage of Lerrlble perfecLlon wlLh PlLlers
musLache and ldeallzed brlghL blue eyes
Line
Pan:er-man, pan:er-man, O You
O anzerman refers Lo Cerman Lank drlvers and conLlnues Lhe lmage of Lhe speakers faLher as
scary and Lerrlble
O 1hen agaln we geL Lhe phrase C ?ou buL Lhls Llme lLs ln ngllsh 1he poem has gone a long
way slnce we heard Lhe cb Jo (llne 13) 1hls C you follows noL a prayer Lo recover hlm buL
an lnvocaLlon of hls horrors
Lines -
Not God but a swastika
So black no sky could squeak through.
O now LhaL Lhe speaker has reLurned Lo her slgh of C ?ou from earller ln Lhe poem she also
reLurns Lo Lhe concepL LhaL her faLher seemed llke Cod Lo her now he appears Lo her Lo be a
swasLlka Lhe nazl symbol LhaL has come Lo be assoclaLed wlLh evll
O uL hes no normal swasLlka hes so black LhaL he blocks Lhe sky !usL llke when Lhe speaker
descrlbed hlm as a sLaLue LhaL sLreLches across Lhe unlLed SLaLes when he ls a swasLlka hes
raLher exLreme
Lines 8-
very woman adores a Fascist,
The boot in the face, the brute
Brute heart of a brute like you.
O 1he speaker here says LhaL every woman loves fasclsL men lasclsm ls an exLreme auLhorlLarlan
Lype of governmenL LhaL we assoclaLe wlLh cruel dlcLaLors PlLler and Lhe nazls were fasclsLs
O She Lhen goes on Lo descrlbe whaL women love abouL lasclsL men Lhe mans booL ln Lhe
womans face a raLher cruel gesLure Lo esLabllsh domlnance and power lLs noL hard Lo
lmaglne someone llke PlLler sLomplng on someones face
O She connecLs Lhe booL ln Lhe face wlLh bruLe hearLs of bruLe men llke her faLher 1hls use of
lnLernal rhyme and repeLlLlon really lnLenslfles Lhe accusaLlon LhaL her faLher was a cruel lasclsL
O So Lhe speaker has connecLed her faLher wlLh lasclsLs and wlLh Lhelr bruLallLy uL shes saylng
LhaL women love all Lhls cruelLy and bruLallLy
O erhaps she has seen herself love a cruel man llke she clalms her faLher ls and perhaps shes
seen oLher women fall ln love wlLh unklnd men Loo She may be commenLlng on women
allowlng Lhemselves Lo be domlnaLed by men 1hls sLaLemenL may also be more blLLerly
sarcasLlc Lhan Lrue lf lL ls meanL as a sLaLemenL of facL lLs crlLlclzlng women as well as Lhe
bruLes Lhey love
Lines -
You stand at the blackboard, daddy,
In the picture I have of you,
O 1hese Lwo llnes are preLLy clearcuL 1he speaker ls looklng aL a plcLure of her faLher and ln Lhe
plcLure hes sLandlng aL a blackboard probably ln a classroom Leachlng
O An lnLeresLlng facL laLhs faLher was a professor
Lines -
A cleft in your chin instead of your foot
But no less a devil for that, no not
O 1hese llnes geL a llLLle more compllcaLed
O 1he speaker says LhaL her faLher has a clefL ln hls chln whlch sLlll sounds llke a preLLy normal
physlcal descrlpLlon buL Lhen she says LhaL Lhls clefL ls ln hls chln lnsLead of hls fooL JhaL klnd
of person has a clefL ln hls fooL?
O Jell ln Lhe nexL llne we flnd ouL LhaL shes noL comparlng her faLher Lo a person buL Lo Lhe
devll 1he devll ls ofLen deplcLed as some sorL of anlmal llke a goaL LhaL has hooves and noL
feeL 1heres ofLen a slgnaLure clefL or lndenL ln Lhe devlls feeL
O 1he speaker has moved from calllng her faLher a nazl Lo calllng hlm a devll
O 1he no noL aL Lhe end of Lhls llne ls an example of en[ambmenL a poeLlc devlce ln whlch an
ldea ls spllL beLween Lwo llnes
Lines -
Any less the black man who

Bit my pretty red heart in two.
O 1hese llnes conLlnue Lhe ldea LhaL was sLarLed ln Lhe prevlous llne !usL llke Lhe clefL ln Lhe
wrong place dldnL make Lhe speakers faLher any less a devll lL dldnL make hlm any less Lhe
cruel man who Lhe speaker says blL her hearL ln Lwo
O 1he speaker says LhaL her faLher ls a black man buL shes probably noL Lalklng abouL hls skln
color lnsLead shes referrlng Lo hlm as a dark and evll person
O 1he color black also conLrasLs vlvldly wlLh Lhe red of her hearL Agaln he probably dldnL acLually
blLe her hearL ln Lwo 1haLs [usL a more vlvld vlclous way Lo say LhaL he broke her hearL
O 1hese Lwo llnes conLlnue Lhe conLrasL of Lhe faLher Lo Lhe speaker 1he faLher ls huge evll and
black whlle Lhe speaker llke her hearL ls a preLLy red and a vlcLlm
Lines -
I was ten when they buried you.
At twenty I tried to die
And get back, back, back to you.
I thought even the bones would do.
O AfLer were Lold LhaL Lhe speakers faLher whom she ls comparlng Lo Lhe devll has broken her
hearL were shown a llLLle more how he oLherwlse affecLs her
O Pe dled when Lhe speaker was Len years old and Len years laLer when she was LwenLy she
aLLempLed Lo dle as well
O She says LhaL Lhe reason she aLLempLed sulclde was Lo geL back Lo her faLher She repeaLs Lhe
word back Lhree Llmes showlng LhaL shes dlsLressed
O Je can remember from earller ln Lhls poem LhaL she used Lo pray Lo recover her faLher Jhen
she was LwenLy she Look Lhls furLher and Lrled Lo dle Lo see lf she could be reconnecLed wlLh
hlm
O She says she LhoughL LhaL even Lhe bones would do Maybe she LhoughL when she dled shed
be burled near her faLher or LhaL once she became only a skeleLon she would be back wlLh hlm
O MosLly Lhls llne shows how dlsLurbed Lhe speaker ls by her relaLlonshlp wlLh her dead faLher
so dlsLurbed LhaL she would Lry Lo klll herself so LhaL she could come closer Lo hlm
But they pulled me out of the sack,
And they stuck me together with glue.
O 8ead LogeLher wlLh llne 38 Lhese llnes Lell us LhaL Lhe speaker Lrled Lo dle buL dld noL succeed
O 1hey (whoever Lhey ls) rescued her from kllllng herself by pulllng her ouL of Lhe sack of deaLh
and glulng her back LogeLher
O Je can lmaglne LhaL someone who has been glued back LogeLher wouldnL ever feel qulLe rlghL
agaln
O 1he ldea of Lhe speaker belng pulled ouL of a sack afLer she has Lrled Lo klll herself remlnds us of
when she sald LhaL her faLher was a bag full of Cod ln llne 8
Lines -
And then I knew what to do.
I made a model of you,
A man in black with a einkampf look
O AfLer Lhe speaker has been rescued from her sulclde aLLempL and glued back LogeLher she
seems Lo have found a new dlrecLlon ln llfe now she knows whaL Lo do
O Per new dlrecLlon ln llfe ls Lo make a model of her faLher Lhe man she clalms ls a nazl and a
devll
O Cf course shes noL acLually maklng a model of Lhls man physlcally llke creaLlng a clay model
Shes creaLlng a subsLlLuLe for her faLher probably by flndlng a real man whom she lmaglnes ls
llke her faLher
O She doesnL call Lhe model a black man as she dld wlLh her faLher buL she does say Lhe
models a man black
O And she doesnL say LhaL Lhls man has a musLache buL says LhaL he ls llke PlLler ln perhaps an
even more dlrecL way , kompf means My SLruggle ln Cerman and ls Lhe LlLle of a book
LhaL was wrlLLen by PlLler
O lL doesnL make much sense LhaL a person would have a My SLruggle look uL lf you Lake
,ompf Lo mean PlLler a PlLler look does make a llLLle more sense
Lines -
And a love of the rack and the screw.
And I said I do, I do.
O So now we know Lhls man modeled afLer Lhe speakers faLher wears black and looks llke PlLler
uoesnL sound very appeallng so far
O uL llne 66 makes lL even worse Lhe rack and Lhe screw are boLh gruesome LorLure
lnsLrumenLs 1hls man sounds llke Lhe eplLome of evll hes llke PlLler and loves gruesome
LorLure
O So whaL does our speaker do? She marrles hlm conflrmlng her weddlng vows l do
O She seL Lhls up earller when she clalmed LhaL every woman loves a fasclsL ln llne 48 Pere Lhe
speaker ls deflnlLely showlng herself ln love wlLh a fasclsL
O y marrylng Lhe man she modeled afLer her faLher Lhe speaker ls fulfllllng Lhe lecLra complex
whlch ls llke Lhe female verslon of Lhe more wellknown Cedlpus complex aslcally Lhe lecLra
complex ls a Lheory LhaL women seek men who are llke Lhelr faLhers and Lhe Cedlpus complex
Lheorlzes LhaL men seek women who are llke Lhelr moLhers
Line 8
So daddy, Im finally through.
O now LhaL she has Lhls model of her faLher shes Lhrough wlLh her acLual faLher She doesnL
need hlm anymore
O JalL we Lhlnk lsnL her faLher dead? Pow can you be Lhrough wlLh someone who ls dead?
O As we can see ln Lhls poem even Lhough he ls physlcally dead her faLher ls sLlll very allve ln Lhe
memorles of Lhe speaker Shes Lhrough wlLh her memorles of hlm and Lhelr effecL on her dally
llfe
O Jeve seen her dangerous obsesslon wlLh her faLher LhroughouL Lhls whole poem so wed
expecL Lo flnd her relleved upon declarlng LhaL shes Lhrough wlLh her faLher uL shes noL
relleved enough Lo end Lhe poem here
Lines 9-
The black telephones off at the root,
The voices fust cant worm through.
O now LhaL shes declared LhaL shes Lhrough wlLh her faLher Lhe speaker deLalls how she ls
Lhrough wlLh hlm lLs as lf Lheyve been ln conLacL over a phone whlch ls now off aL Lhe rooL
O Cf course Lhe Lelephone LhaL she used Lo Lalk Lo her faLher whom she called a black man ls
also black 1hls makes lL seem mysLlcal any Lelephone LhaL you could use Lo Lalk Lo a dead
person would naLurally be black
O 1he speaker slgnlfles LhaL shes Lhrough wlLh her faLher by saylng Lhe phone ls off aL Lhe rooL
whlch for a normal phone would probably mean someLhlng llke lLs unplugged
O 1he Lelephone havlng a rooL makes Lhe ldea LhaL volces canL worm Lhrough make more sense
Je can lmaglne a black Lelephone growlng llke a planL from Lhe speakers faLhers grave 1he
volces comlng Lhrough Lhe phone would be llke worms ln Lhe soll
O uL now Lhe phone ls cuL off no volces can geL Lhrough so Lhe faLher and daughLer can no
longer communlcaLe
Line
If Ive killed one man, Ive killed two
O Pere we are back Lo Lhe speakers clalm from llne 6 LhaL she kllled her faLher Je know from
LhaL sLanza LhaL he dled before she acLually kllled hlm uL here she ls agaln clalmlng LhaL shes
kllled noL one man buL Lwo
O Je can guess LhaL Lhe flrsL man she clalms Lo have kllled ls her faLher and slnce Lhe only oLher
man ln Lhls poem ls Lhe model of her faLher were guesslng LhaLs Lhe second man
O uL were also guesslng she hasnL octoolly kllled Lhese men excepL ln her head
Lines -
The vampire who said he was you
And drank my blood for a year,
Seven years, if you want to know.
O now we geL more lndlcaLlon LhaL Lhe second man Lhe speaker has kllled ls as suspecLed Lhe
man LhaL she modeled afLer her faLher and marrled Jere guesslng Lhls because LhaL man
whom shes calllng a vamplre sald he was you so ls very slmllar Lo her faLher
O Shes already made Lhls man ouL Lo be llke PlLler and now hes a vamplre Loo Pes such a
vamplre LhaL he acLually drank her blood She sLarLs by saylng LhaL he drank her blood for a year
buL Lhen changes her mlnd and says hes been drlnklng lL for seven
O urlnklng blood could be a meLaphor for Lhe speakers relaLlonshlp wlLh Lhls man whlch as we
found ouL earller was marrlage lL sounds llke Lhls man has been dralnlng her llfe away llke a
vamplre would draln hls vlcLlms blood
O Jere noL sure why she changed her mlnd on Lhe Llme span Maybe she was only marrled Lo Lhe
man for one year buL knew hlm for seven Cr maybe she LhoughL he was only cruel Lo her for
one year buL upon furLher LhoughL she reallzes LhaL hes really been cruel for seven whlch
could be Lhe LoLallLy of Lhelr marrlage
O (lnLeresLlng facL ln real llfe laLh was marrled Lo 1ed Pughes for abouL seven years)
O 1he speaker adds Lhe lf you wanL Lo know aL Lhe end of Lhls llne ln whaL seems llke a [ab Lo her
faLher who could be elLher dlslnLeresLed ln or hurL by hls daughLers dlsLress
Line
addy, you can lie back now.
O AfLer Lhe speaker has asserLed LhaL shes kllled boLh her faLher and Lhe man she marrled (who
remlnded her of hlm) she Lells her faLher Lo lle back
O normally youd Lhlnk of Lhls as someLhlng comforLlng llke lylng back and relaxlng uL lLs klnd
of welrd LhaL our speaker ls Lelllng her dead faLher whom she seems Lo haLe or aL leasL be
angry aL Lo lle back and relax
O lLs also a llLLle sLrange LhaL she calls hlm uaddy whlch ls an affecLlonaLe name for someone
she has allgned wlLh so much evll
Line
Theres a stake in your fat black heart
O As suspecLed Lhe speaker lsnL Lelllng her faLher Lo lle back so LhaL he can relax Shes Lelllng hlm
or perhaps Lelllng Lhe parL of hlm LhaL ls ln herself Lo lle back because hes dead
O uL he hasnL dled a merely human deaLh ecause memorles of hlm llke a vamplre have llved
pasL hls physlcal deaLh sucklng blood (or aL leasL Lhe wlll Lo llve) from our speaker he musL be
kllled llke a vamplre wlLh a sLake Lo Lhe hearL
O Pls hearL here flLs wlLh Lhe resL of Lhe descrlpLlons of hlm blg and black (as ln evll) lLs Lhe
opposlLe of Lhe speakers hearL descrlbed ln llne 36 as preLLy and red
Lines -9
And the villagers never liked you.
They are dancing and stamping on you.
They always knew it was you.
O noL only ls Lhe speakers faLher dead slaln llke a vamplre buL Lhe vlllagers never llked hlm
anyway
O 1hls seems llke a reference Lo vamplre lore Jere noL Lalklng @lbt here buL older llLeraLure
llke ram SLokers utocolo ln whlch vamplres llved near llLLle vlllages
O 1he poem shows us LhaL lLs klnd of an undersLaLemenL LhaL Lhe vlllagers never llked Lhe
speakers faLher Lheyre so happy LhaL hes dead LhaL Lheyre brazenly danclng and sLomplng
on hls dead body
O 1heyre dolng Lhls because Lhey always knew lL was you Clven Lhe vamplre references Lhls
probably means LhaL Lhey always suspecLed LhaL Lhe speakers faLher was Lhe vamplre causlng
all sorLs of problems and mysLerlous dlsappearances ln Lhe vlllage
O lLs lmporLanL Lo remember as Lhe meLaphor grows wlder LhaL Lhls vamplre ls really [usL ln Lhe
speakers head Jhlle Lhe vlllagers could be a meLaphor for Lhe real llvlng people who surround
Lhe speaker Lheyre probably noL acLually vlllagers And Lheres a good chance LhaL Lhe vlllagers
are [usL ln Lhe speakers head
Line 8
addy, daddy, you bastard, Im through.
O 1he poem reaches lLs crescendo wlLh Lhls llne and lf lL was a rock concerL Lhls ls where Lhe
gulLars would be smashed
O 1he speaker has LhreaLened LhaL shes Lhrough wlLh her faLher before ln llne 68 uL Lhe
repeLlLlon of Lhe word uaddy here and Lhe addlLlon of Lhe word basLard makes Lhls
condemnaLlon flnal
O efore Lhls Lhe speaker has used Lhe word uaddy only four Llmes ln an 80llne poem noL
counLlng Lhe LlLle uslng Lhls affecLlonaLe Lerm for faLher Lwlce ln Lhe lasL llne makes lL sound
almosL llke shes beaLlng on hls chesL Lo geL her polnL across
O 1he use of Lhe word basLard seems Lo be whaL Lhls poem has worked lLself up Lo 1he speaker
has Lrled ouL every way posslble Lo crlLlclze her faLher hes a nazl Lhe devll and a vamplre
uL ln Lhe end she [usL wanLed Lo geL ouL a good verbal punch calllng her faLher a basLard
Noth|ng go|d can stay
naLures flrsL green ls gold
Per hardesL hue Lo hold
Per early leafs a flower
uL only so an hour
1hen leaf subsldes Lo leaf
So den sank Lo grlef
So dawn goes down Lo day
noLhlng gold can sLay
1he poem means LhaL noLhlng young can sLay and we cannoL expecL anyLhlng Lo lasL forever As sald by
Lhe poeL Lhe green naLure elLher Lree or leaf for Lhe flrsL Llme Lhey are young and fresh whlch looks
green Lurns maglcally lnLo gold uL lL ls hard for Lhe day Lo hold Lhe beauLy when dawn arrlves 1he
green leaf whlch maglcally Lurned lnLo gold ls now a preclous flower And lndeed lL agaln lasL for an
hour when Lhe day breaks Jhen Lhe speclal llghL of Lhe dawn ends Lhe leaf wlll agaln look llke a normal
leaf 1hus Lhe greaL happlness slnks lnLo lnLense sorrow Jhen Lhe dawn ends lL wlll agaln be day and
hence every Lhlng around us ls uncerLaln and lmpermanenL
$,/0,3/,:/

Maud went to college.
Sadie stayed home.
Sadie scraped life
ith a fine toothed comb.

She didn't leave a tangle in
Her comb found every strand.
Sadie was one of the livingest chicks
n all the land.

Sadie bore two babies
Under her maiden name.
Maud and Ma and Papa
Nearly died of shame.

hen Sadie said her last so-long
Her girls struck out from home.
(Sadie left as heritage
Her fine-toothed comb.)

Maud, who went to college,
s a thin brown mouse.
She is living all alone
n this old house