Original Poem Analysis
In many families, there is often some sort of object that is testament to the years they've spent together. It's been passed down through the years or has been a key part of everyday life for the family. It has been around as children have grown up and as parents have aged. In many cases, family members can see a part of themselves within the object. For my family, that object is our dinner table.
Often the center of a busy household, the dinner table is something I've grown up with all my life. I can fondly remember playing under it as a child while my parents ate above me. Upon closer inspection of the surface of the table, one can see that it is covered in writing from homework across the years. In fact, one can even see the development of one's own handwriting, as well as read actual sentences off the table. It has battle scars from use and its surface is extremely worn. However, it is a testament to our childhood and the life that my family has lived in this house.
That concept was the inspiration for The Dinner Table. In the poem, I wanted to stress the development of our lives surrounding this unmoving table. I wanted to convey the feeling that the table was, in a way, recording some aspects of our life better than pictures every could. In the marks and writing on the table, I desired to show the reader candid shots of my childhood all the way up until the present day. One of the highlights of this theme is the chair stanza, in which I note how the table has recorded each new birth in my family by adding a chair for each one. I felt this was a powerful technique to demonstrate the way in which the table record our lives. These memories inscribed in and around the table represent a permanent record that will last a lifetime or more.
-Robert Chun
Picture Source
Often the center of a busy household, the dinner table is something I've grown up with all my life. I can fondly remember playing under it as a child while my parents ate above me. Upon closer inspection of the surface of the table, one can see that it is covered in writing from homework across the years. In fact, one can even see the development of one's own handwriting, as well as read actual sentences off the table. It has battle scars from use and its surface is extremely worn. However, it is a testament to our childhood and the life that my family has lived in this house.
That concept was the inspiration for The Dinner Table. In the poem, I wanted to stress the development of our lives surrounding this unmoving table. I wanted to convey the feeling that the table was, in a way, recording some aspects of our life better than pictures every could. In the marks and writing on the table, I desired to show the reader candid shots of my childhood all the way up until the present day. One of the highlights of this theme is the chair stanza, in which I note how the table has recorded each new birth in my family by adding a chair for each one. I felt this was a powerful technique to demonstrate the way in which the table record our lives. These memories inscribed in and around the table represent a permanent record that will last a lifetime or more.
-Robert Chun
Picture Source
