My Father, In Heaven, Is Reading Out Loud

My Father, In Heaven, Is Reading Out Loud is a poem written by Li-Young Lee. In this poem Lee speaks of his father in a unique way. We can tell from this poem that Lee’s father was very religious and read the bible often. We know this because lines 1 and 2 say “My father, in heaven, is reading out loud to himself Psalms or news.” I like that in this poem that Lee resembles the father’s study to heaven. God is in heaven and only comes down when he is needed. In this poem, Lee’s father comes down from his study to help the children when they need him. We get a feeling by the middle of the poem that Lee’s father seems to be strict and he seems to have a grudge against him.

The part of this poem that has the most metaphors and really makes the readers think in lines 9 through 15. It states “Because my father walked the earth with a grave, determined rhythm, my shoulders ached from his gaze” (Lee lines 9 – 11). I get the feeling that his father was very determined and was tough on his children as well. “Because my father’s shoulders ached from the pulling of oars, my life now moves with a powerful back and forth rhythm: nostalgia, speculation” (Lee lines 11-14). I believe that these lines of the poem mean that his father worked hard to get his family where they were and he does let his family forget their past or where they can be in the future.

Closer to the end of the poem, Lee begins to see that his father isn’t so “Godly” after all. He is actually quite normal. We know this from lines 29-36. In these lines we find that his father was a scholar that looked up to God, but not only God. We find that his father looked up to God to know what to do when he had to pack up his family, but he also listen to the radio. This is when Lee finds that his dad is just like him. Lines 32 through 36 say “ At the doorway, I watched, and I suddenly knew he was one like me, who got my learning from under a lintel; he was one of the powerless, to who knowledge came while he sat among suitcases, boxes, old newspapers, string” (Lee lines 32-36). These lines are where Lee really sees who his father is. He doesn’t see him as this strict God that stays in his study reading the bible or a news paper, but another human being.

The last stanza of the poem relates how normal his father is compared to a God that he idolized him to be in the beginning. “He did not decide peace or war, home or exile, escape by land or escape by sea” (Lee lines 37- 38). He used to see his father as a person that could decide war or peace as God would do. He used to see his father as this powerful and scary man that he now sees is not real.

I found this poem to be inspiring.  It gave us the insight that most children see of their fathers to be strict and powerful, but truly they are just human trying to get through the hard times of life.