Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

"My Father's House, 1908-1970" by Calvin Forbes is a poignant exploration of memory, decay, and the enduring impact of familial legacies. Through a richly symbolic depiction of a house, Forbes delves into the complexities of inheritance—both physical and emotional—and the ways in which our pasts shape our identities and experiences.

The poem begins with a quiet, introspective tone: "I live quietly and go nowhere / And this house shakes like a tree." This imagery immediately sets a scene of instability and unrest, contrasting with the speaker's personal stillness. The house, trembling like a living entity, suggests that despite the speaker's desire for peace, the past and its memories are active and disruptive forces.

The spiritual overtones are introduced with the metaphor "Open the door, Jesus is the hinge / Squeaking from the rusty rain." This line not only evokes a sense of age and neglect—implied by the rust—but also suggests a sacredness to the entryway of this home. The reference to Jesus as the hinge metaphorically positions this figure as a pivotal point of entry, both to the house and to the deeper, spiritual or emotional insights the house holds.

The structural description of the house is rich in metaphor and symbolizes a state of decay and abandonment: "This house wasn't built / By human hands, and no bricks will / You find, wood or glass." By denying the house a conventional structure, Forbes emphasizes its ephemeral, ghostly nature. It's described as "a skeleton inside the worst / Possible skin," furthering the imagery of something bare, exposed, and vulnerable, yet enveloped in a protective yet deteriorating layer.

Entering the house is depicted as a foreboding experience: "Knock and enter afraid, / Your shadow rigid as the brass laid / Across your coffin." These lines evoke a sense of dread, likening the entrance to crossing a threshold into death. The house becomes a space where one confronts their mortality and the legacies left behind by those who have passed.

Inside, the house is a "sacred slum, no mystery / Except memory." This oxymoron contrasts the sanctity of the space with its physical dilapidation, suggesting that its true value and mystery lie in the memories it holds, rather than in its physical form. The house, with its "Broken beams," stands as a testament to the past's enduring presence, fragile yet significant.

The poem concludes with an invitation or perhaps a challenge: "Rise and make ends meet / My tenant." The speaker calls the reader (or an imagined tenant) to reconcile with this place of memory, to find safety and purpose within its confines. The directive to "retreat / To a hidden corner; without mercy guard / Its secret life as if a fortune were yours" implores the tenant to preserve the house's "secret life"—its memories and legacies—as a treasured inheritance.

Through "My Father's House, 1908-1970," Forbes crafts a layered narrative about the burdens and treasures of familial inheritance. The house, as a symbol, stands not just as a physical structure but as a vessel of memory, legacy, and identity, challenging the tenant—and by extension, the reader—to confront and preserve the past as a sacred, albeit daunting, responsibility.

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