My Papa's Waltz

 

Theodore Rothke - My Papa’s Waltz

This famous poem by Theodore Rothke is an excellent example of olfactory and tactile imagery with plenty of visual imagery thrown in for good measure. The effect is powerful.

The whiskey on your breath 

Could make a small boy dizzy;

But I hung on like death: 

Such waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans 

Slid from the kitchen shelf; 

My mother’s countenance 

Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held my wrist 

Was battered on one knuckle; 

At every step you missed

My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head 

With a palm caked hard by dirt, 

Then waltzed me off to bed 

Still clinging to your shirt.