Any interpretation of this story is due to the reader's personal emotions and feelings towards their dad. This story can be a dance between him and his father, thus bringing them closer. However, there is a darker side to this poem, on this side there is a disturbing fight between a boy and his drunken father and all the intimacy of the dance does not impress the reader and is overshadowed by the anger he feels. Theodore Roethke manipulates our emotions in this poem using literary conventions. A waltz is a light-hearted and easily accessible dance. In a waltz, a couple sways back and forth as they go in a circle. Our emotions of this poem seem to follow this same path as we can see comforting and scary images at the same time in this poem making us go around in circles wondering if this poem is about a boy dancing with his father or a boy fighting his father. . An example of this “waltz” we have in this poem is in the first stanza when we get the scary image of “The whiskey on your breath could make a little boy dizzy” (lines 1-2). Then he continues with "we broke", thus undermining the serious tone given to us by the first verse; however, the fun quickly turns serious when pots and pans slide off the kitchen shelves and "The Mother's Face Cannot Raise Her Brow." Another part that can be taken in a positive or negative reading is when the poem reads, “The hand that held my wrist was struck on a knuckle.” This may mean that his father was a hardworking man whose hands are weathered from working long hours as a grafter, or it may mean that his hand was battered because it is the same hand used to beat him. This gives us yet another emo twist... middle of paper... fathers dominating their son to do whatever he wants. The holding on in the last line can be seen as the boy simply trying to survive and is grabbing whatever he can to get through this ordeal. There's no way for him to fight back because he's so young, because in the first verse just for him to resist isn't easy. The narrator could focus on many other cases with his father, but he doesn't because it hurts him deeper. He doesn't describe his father, just focuses on his knuckles and belt. There is no clear and correct way to analyze poetry, and judging who is more correct is in the hands of the reader, not the writers. If readers were looking for different meanings, each side would have a valid reason why theirs is correct and the opposing side must accept it. The only argument that can be shared is that it is an interesting and powerful poem.