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My Father's Love Letters By Yusef Komunyakaa Analysis

Decent Essays

Apologetic Serial Abuser The hardest words for anyone to say are “I’m sorry.” Many times those words fall on deaf ears or cannot carry it’s own weight alone, nevertheless in gold. Victims of domestic violence hear the apologies, smell peace offering flowers and see cranial sized holes in the wall being patched over, time after time in most cases. The abuser is filled with short time guilt and vow never to strike again until the next time occurs. In Yusef Komunyakaa’s poem My Father’s Love Letters, a child has been given the task to transcribe his father’s words of forgiveness to his mother. His cries of “baby, honey, please” dust the paper only to be left dangling, waiting for an apology and “promising to never beat her again” (Komunyakaa n.par.). Many abusers are repeat offenders and use words and gifts to erase the path of destruction left behind. According to Huffington Post research article, 35 times is “the average number of times an …show more content…

My Father’s Lover Letters gives insight of a child seeing the abused played out for both parties involved, taking heed to the pattern of violence followed up by unapologetic sympathy notes and forgive me songs, waiting on how much time will past before the next incident. The child at times, is left feeling sorry for the man who caused all the pain, sitting in “quiet brutality” “laboring over a simple word” to appear on his paper (Komunyakaa n.par.).
Happy that his mother was able to leave the volatile relationship and wondered when she received the letters if “she laughed and held them over a gas burner” in an expressive gesture of freedom (Komunyakaa n.par.). Women are conflicted over the difficult decision to choose leave or stay with their abuser because of children, finances and the overwhelming fear for their lives. Love should never make a person feel trapped, hurt or leave

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