For My Daughter Poem Analysis

Words: 446
Pages: 2

In the poem “For My Daughter” by Weldon Kees, he talks about having a having a daughter, but he describes her in a very particular way because he only talks about ways she can die or having a miserable life. In the line “Beneath the innocence of morning flesh // concealed, hintings of death she does no heed” (Kees 2-3), Kees’ daughter seems to be suffering of some sort of illness that is killing her, but she is not aware. However, Kees does not specify what type of illness his daughter is suffering from, but he is convinced that his daughter will suffer and die from it. Kees’ poem is very interesting but also saddening because he only talks about how miserable his daughter will be. Kees not only talks about how his daughter will die, he …show more content…
Kees also believes his daughter will be subjected to hatred from others “Or, fed on hate, she relishes the sting// Of others agony; perhaps the cruel” (Kees 10-11) It also seems as if Kees wanted or hoped for his child to go through all the misery he thinks of.
This poem could also be interpreted as if women were to be subjected to a life filled with pain and Kees is aware of it. In fact, Kees confesses that he does not have a daughter and he does not wish to have one. “I have no daughter. I desire none” (Kees 14) Kees does not want to a have a daughter because he knows all the pain she will go through; however, his expectations are quite exaggerating because he does not know if his daughter will suffer of a disease as lethal as he thinks. She might not have to be married to such wicked man as he pictured, and she might not even marry a man at all. In conclusion, Kees seems to rather have a son because he does not believe a daughter could be happy at all. This is quite pessimistic because a father should wish for his children to be happy regardless of their