When I was given the assignment to memorize and recite a poem for a modern poetry class I took in college, I chose this one because it was one of the few that rhymed and I thought it would be easier to memorize because of that. But I actually really like this poem. I can't believe how perfectly calculated everything is, from the precise rhymes to the exact and lolling iambic tetrameter. Yet beyond its calculated structure, it is actually chock-full of relatable and tender emotion. He is anxious sad to say good-bye to his daughter. I think of this poem often when I am at the airport and witness to people distributing good-byes and hugs, containing tears and worries. And yeah, I'm also a sucker for father-daughter/daughter-father poems. I included a little bit of what I call my "poem decoding" below.
At the San Francisco Airport
To my daughter, 1954
This is the terminal: the light A
Gives perfect vision, false and hard; B
The metal glitters, deep and bright. A
Great planes are waiting in the yard— B
They are already in the night. A
And you are here beside me, small, 8 syllables
Contained and fragile, and intent da DUM | da DUM | da DUM | da DUM
On things that I but half recall— 4 sets of iambs = iambic tetrameter
Yet going whither you are bent. but a case could be made for something else
I am the past, and that is all.
But you and I in part are one:
The frightened brain, the nervous will,
The knowledge of what must be done,
The passion to acquire the skill
To face that which you dare not shun.
The rain of matter upon sense
Destroys me momently. The score:
There comes what will come. The expense
Is what one thought, and something more—
One’s being and intelligence.
This is the terminal, the break.
Beyond this point, on lines of air,
You take the way that you must take;
And I remain in light and stare—
In light, and nothing else, awake.
