Ginsburg converses with Death and everything that Death has taken.

Throughout
the poem he connects Death with all parts of life. He makes connections with rel
igion, family, society, as well as within oneself. In almost every line of the p
oem Ginsberg directly addresses Death, but the flow of the poem greater addresse
s the idea of content. Loss, Content, and Acceptance are themes that flood the l
ines of this poem.
Ginsberg starts the journey of this poem calling out to Death Hey Father Deat
h, I m coming home (line 1) The Hey indicates some sort of familiarity with Death. He
is not afraid and he is comfortable with Death. This is an early indication of
Content as a theme. The second part of that line I m flying home explicitly says Ho
me , meaning that he is going to a place of comfort another indication that there
is no fear of Death. Many fear Death and that which is associated with Death how
ever, here that seems not to be the case. Also Brothers Death, please mind the st
ore whether he is talking about a brother dying then he is showing that life must
go on. Saying, please mind the store either indicates that the poet himself is de
ad or dying and that he needs to make sure the store is taken care of. Or he i
s saying that another has died so their responsibilities need to be attended to.
There are conflicting thoughts however in the poem (lines 4 & 12) Father Deat
h, Don t cry any more and Pain is gone, tears take the rest theses lines show pain an
d suffering. They show a sad and negative yet natural part of Death a period of
grievance. They are both lines that have sorrow Don t cry any more and Pain is gone
We mourn our loved ones but they are no longer able to feel. They pain is no lon
ger with them it is with the Living. The tear take the rest they take what s left of
the pain. The line Father Death, I m flying home is repeated twice throughout the
poem in lines 1...
If one deeply notices the words of Father Death Blues , it appears as if a child ha
s painted a beautiful canvas and the meaning of the painting is explained in an
adult form. It is impossible to believe the fact that a few lines can explain th
e meaning of death- the biggest truth of life, so beautifully. The poem Father De
ath Blues as the title suggests has been written by Ginsberg particularly at the
time when he was deeply disheartened by his father s death.
The poet aesthetically explains the fact that though death is an important part
of life and everyone has to lose someone or the other in his or her lifetime, bu
t still it is essential to accept and understand that death comes to all.
Marked by blues structure and a well -defined rhyme scheme, the poem explains th
e fact that apart from being a master of expression and language, Ginsberg has a
lso proved himself being a master of longing and loss. The poem was written in a
sad mood but it beautifully explains the fact that one should stand up tall eve
n after the loss of his or her loved one because life goes on, it does not wait
for anyone else.
The poet says that anyone s death be it your father, your mother, your sister, you
r brother, your uncle, your aunt or anyone else whom you love is hard to handle,
but eventually comes a time when the pain is lost and the tears dry up. Instead
of mourning over his father s death, the poet is actually thanking him that despi
te the pain he is going through, he is now inspired to learn greater lessons in
life and he is also thankful for the fact that his father s death has matured him
as a human being. No other incident; good or bad has taught him so much than the
death of his father.
What is astonishing in the poem is that despite being a native English writer, G
insberg has associated the phenomena of death with the Indian God Buddha when he
says, Buddha death, I wake with you . He means that he has gained enlightenment ju
st like Lord Buddha. He also says Dharma death, your mind is new, Sangha death we l
l work it through . Dharma is an Indian word meaning religion and Sangha means uni

ty. The poet has amazingly explained the phenomena of death relating it to relig
ion and unity as explained by the Indian culture.
At the end of the poem, the poet says that though he has lost his father and he
is awakened to the fact that he cannot do away, with his father anymore, he stil
l misses him and wishes that he comes back again when he says Father breath once
more farewell .