The Gift

“Eating Alone” by Li-Young Lee (1986)

Like “The Gift,” this poem concerns a memory of Lee’s father. The poem is written from his adult perspective, looking back on a brief, impressionistic moment with his father when he was young. It concludes with the speaker realizing that the death of one’s father is a natural part of life for a young man.

“Eating Together” by Li-Young Lee (1986)

This poem concerns a communal family meal shortly after the death of Lee’s father. Through the careful presentation and eating of the food, Lee demonstrates the power shift that has happened, as his mother is now the head of the family. The poem ends with the father’s metaphorical journey to heaven.

“Folding a Five-Cornered Star So the Corners Meet” by Li-Young Lee (2018)

Like the previous poems, this one also references Lee’s father, but moves even farther back in time, to Lee’s birth in Indonesia, where his family was in exile. This poem blends the speaker’s adult sense of isolation and melancholy with memories of earlier life and direct address to God.

“Those Winter Sundays” by Robert Hayden (1966)

Unlike Lee’s poems, this one, also about a father and son, illustrates the regrets the adult son has for taking his father’s actions for granted when he was a child.