A brief explication

Photo by Celine Chamberlin

The poem is titled "First Shift." The narrator of this poem is a younger person who lives with their father and grandparents. This young narrator gives a pretty vivid image of what times were like in the household. The father and the grandparents wake up very early in the morning to get a jump start on the day. "The four-thirty whistle won't wake him this morning. My father's awake, dreaming of paychecks." This family is very hardworking, and they leave home very early and walk to work in the dark. The narrator wants to help the family make money, but they cannot follow except in memory. So I figure the narrator is too young to go to work, therefore they cannot help provide for the family. The narrator must really appreciate the hard work of the family, because this hard work provides food and shelter to keep them safe. To me it's sad to see grandparents waking up very early in the morning and having to walk to work. This poem really makes me appreciate all the little things in life, and it reminds me that nothing comes easy in life.