Feelings For Our Fathers When asked about one’s feelings, people will often give a myriad of different answers. More times than not, those answers will range anywhere from: happy, sad, angry, or somewhere in between. At any one moment, people can have numerous conflicting feelings about the same subject. Li-Young Lee’s poem, “My Father, in Heaven, Is Reading Out Loud,” perfectly demonstrates how the feelings we have for our fathers are complex, not simple. Lee’s complex feelings for his own father are first shown when he explains how “[his] shoulders ached from his [father’s] gaze” (320-21). This statement is one that most people can probably identify with. As children, we have a deep-rooted desire to make our parents proud of us. However, sometimes the pressure on us gets to be too much. This pressure leads to feelings of resentment, as a result of not being good enough. Lee describes his own experience with resentment, which stemmed from him feeling like “a remarkable disappointment to [his father]” (321). Resentment is just one of the many complex feelings we …show more content…
He feels nostalgic when thinking back on times with his father. Although Lee’s father relentlessly pushed him to work harder, some good memories came from those times. He admits that the knowledge his father instilled in him “never comes but while [he’s] mid-stride a flight of stairs, or lost a moment on some avenue” (Lee 321). The knowledge Lee gained from his father is just one of the reasons why he loved him. The good memories, although fleeting, bring back feelings of joy and love. Many people can relate to this feeling as well. The good times more than make up for the bad. Our fathers may not know the best way to go about it, but they try to do what is best for us. It is this act of love that, in turn, leaves us with an appreciation for our fathers. Love is just another complex feeling we have for our