Theodore Roethke

The poem "My Papa's Waltz" seems to be talking about the abuse of a father. The first line mentions whiskey on the father's breath and it seems that the boy and his father are dancing the waltz. The words "such waltzing was not easy" makes me think he was not talking about dancing. I also felt like the tone was not a happy one when he said "the hand that held my wrist". If you are talking about a memory of you and your father dancing even if your father had been drinking,then it would have a happy tone. The words battered and beat also make me think of abuse instead of dancing.The papa's waltz must have been when he had to much to drink and he went after the son and then put him to bed.