Notes For The Family Car
"The Family Car" - I include this poem for personal reasons. It does break a few rules I have about poetry writing in general. I think poetry that is too, personal makes for a bad poem. A good poem should mean a lot to the reader and not so much to the writer. We all have fathers, well some of us anyways, and who's to say that my Dad's better than your Dad. So, there is even a competitive issue for the reader to deal with that can strike down your heartfelt piece about a dear old Dad.
Secondly, I personally don't care for descriptive poetry; I am an admirer of capturing the nuance with as few words as possible - let the reader's imagination take ownership of filling in the less important details.
So, with all that having been said, the real hero in this poem is the guy in the driver's seat. The more I got to know about his dysfunctional upbringing the more I understood about this man's motives regarding family. To call him a 'family man' would be an understatement. And if Dylan Thomas - to name another who successfully pulled it off - can write about his father, than so can I.
S J Garrett
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The Family Car