Reading Response Week 3

My reading response is over “My Father’s Love Letters.” The title in itself to me is a bit deceiving. His father is technically sending love letters, but it’s only because he wants his wife back after he’s beaten her. This poem really got to me on a personal level since this abusive father is making his son write to his mother. I really like how the author revealed the boy’s struggle between being happy that his absent mother is safe, and his love and loyalty to a father who beat his mother. We talked about this in class, but one of the parts that caught me the most was, “He would beg,/ Promising to never beat her/ Again.” The fact that the line ended with “beat her” and the next line began with “Again” really caught my attention. That the point of doing it that way, I guess. It catches the reader off guard while emphasizing that he already hit her. I like that the author didn’t go into the letter. He just said, “Love,/ Baby, Honey, Please.” Like we said in class, we don't need to know what was in the letter. We know what he is trying to say. Next came the “quiet brutality” with “voltage meters & pipe threaders.” I loved this detail because all I could think about was how he added a measuring tool for electricity. A tool that measures something you can’t really see until you feel it shocking your system. You might see sparks, but you can't see the whole thing. Much like the level of anger before your husband’s fist meets your face. Lastly, the ending was perfect. He ended saying that these letters ALMOST redeemed his father. I liked the almost because what he tried to say shouldn’t excuse what he did. But, it’s a start if it's the truth.