The poem "My Father's Waltz" written by Theodore Roethke, the speaker, reflects on a childhood memory that he and his father shared. This poem has two different interpretations and theories of the relationship between the speaker and his father. Some people like me see it as a romantic relationship between father and son. Others see connotations alluding to an abusive relationship between father and son. There are examples in the poem that contribute to both theorized meanings of the poem. I can clearly see the loving relationship that father and son share. Others see undertones of abuse throughout the poem. “The whiskey on your breath/Could make a little boy dizzy” (1-2) could be interpreted as an alcoholic father not caring about the implications his mature drinks may have on his son. The fact that the speaker looks back and can remember the smell of his father's breath and the toxicity of it could suggest that his father's drunkenness was often cemented in his memory. The speaker then says "I held on like death"(3), which could be seen as a...