He was a little boy who enjoyed the time he spent with his father. Even though his father had “whiskey” on his breath and it was enough to “make a little boy dizzy,” Theodore “held on” while they danced. If it was an unpleasant memory, Roethke wouldn't cling to his father if the situation was a horrible memory. They “waltzed” and even though it was difficult, he and his father “frolicked” everywhere. Theodore's father had a "battered knuckle" and a "dirt-covered palm", symbolizing that he was a worker. As a worker, he is never home, so Theodore cherishes the time he spends with his father, even if he is drunk. When the father “took” him to bed but Theodore didn’t want this moment of joy