Elegy for my Father, Who is Not Dead

This poem outlines the feelings of a living man toward death. The speaker is not very comfortable with the thought of death; however, his father couldn't be more comfortable with the idea. The speaker's has no fear for what will eventually consume us all, death. He realizes that it is going to happen regardless, so he has a realistic or even an optimistic attitude toward death. I think that the poem represents many older people's attitude toward death. They know that it is coming soon and have coped with the idea. Their death may not be so comforting to the ones around them, such as the speaker in this case, but they know that everyone is going to die eventually. The father of the speaker is not necessarily waiting for death to fall upon him, but he is certainly fearful of the final day of his life.