Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Simon J. Ortiz’s "Expectant Father" is a quiet, reverent meditation on anticipation, memory, and the deep-rooted connection between life, nature, and storytelling. In this poem, Ortiz blends past and present, land and body, to create a portrait of an expectant father who understands that welcoming a child into the world is not just about birth, but about passing down knowledge, love, and a sense of belonging. The poem's fluid structure mirrors the movement of time and experience, moving between a remembered journey to a spring and the immediate, intimate moments of waiting for the child to arrive.

The poem opens with a simple, declarative statement: "I am an expectant father." This moment of self-identification is not just a biological fact, but a position of responsibility, of becoming a guide. The following lines form a kind of prayer: "Pray then: / smile for all good things, note the wind, note the rain, / touch the gentleness with care; be good." The list of actions—smiling, observing the wind and rain, touching with care—suggests that fatherhood is not about control or authority, but about attentiveness and kindness. The natural elements—wind and rain—set the tone for the rest of the poem, emphasizing the sacredness of life as it exists in harmony with the world.

The next section shifts into a memory, a moment from the speaker’s youth, when he and his companions descended from a mesa to find a spring. "After we had watched the hawk circling in the hot wind and lost it against the color of the mesa across the valley, we decided to climb down the mesa to this spring." The image of the hawk circling—an ancient and powerful symbol of vision and guidance—foreshadows the journey toward the spring, which itself becomes a metaphor for discovery, renewal, and sustenance.

The description of the spring is rich with sensory details: "The water dripped from soft crumbly shale and ran into a small pool. Around the water were hand-high green ferny plants and moss grew on stone. There were movements in the water which were our reflections and the tiny water beings that lived there." The spring is not just a place of refreshment; it is alive, full of movement and presence. The reflections in the water reinforce the idea of looking back, of seeing oneself in the past, in the land, in the continuity of life. The "tiny water beings" emphasize the sacred smallness of life, a reminder that even the smallest elements are part of a larger existence.

The moment of drinking the water becomes ritualistic: "Earl dipped into the water with a rusty can and drank and then Gilly. It was my turn then." The passing of the can from one to another suggests communal trust, a shared experience of receiving what the land offers. The speaker describes the taste of the water as "sweet and like a dark underground cavern, but something of a taste that was more like a touching wind than anything else." The water is not simply water—it carries depth, mystery, the feeling of the earth itself. The phrase "touching wind" connects this moment back to the opening lines, where the speaker instructed himself to "note the wind." This suggests that experiences—whether drinking water, feeling the wind, or welcoming a child—should be received with awareness and gratitude.

The memory ends with movement: "We weren’t so tired and hot after a while anymore, and we climbed on down to the flat valley and looked some more for our horses." The exhaustion fades, and the search continues. This passage subtly mirrors the experience of waiting for a child—there is effort, movement, waiting, and ultimately a continuation of life. The horses, not yet found, suggest a journey still unfolding.

The poem then returns to the present, directly addressing the expectant father: "When the child comes, expectant father, tell the child." This imperative shifts the poem into its purpose—fatherhood is about storytelling, about passing on experiences so that the child, too, can understand their place in the world. The simple phrase "tell the child" carries enormous weight; it is not just about sharing knowledge but about ensuring continuity, making sure that the child is given the tools to belong.

The poem moves into a moment of intimate physicality: "When I have awoken in the early mornings, I have felt the child's flutter at the small of my back, the mother’s belly pressed against me." This is the quiet, unseen reality of expectation—the deep, bodily connection between father, mother, and unborn child. The unborn child is given a delicate, sacred image: "The child is a butterfly cupped in the Mother’s hands." The metaphor conveys fragility, beauty, and the need for care. The hands of the mother are protective, nurturing, holding the child as one would hold something precious and fleeting.

The final lines offer a gentle command to the child: "Be gentle, Naya; be kind, this morning and for all mornings of our—your children's—lives." The shift from "our" to "your children's" expands the moment beyond the immediate father-child relationship, hinting at future generations. The request for gentleness and kindness is both a blessing and a responsibility, a way of ensuring that the cycle of care continues.

The poem closes with a final return to nature: "When it rains in a soft wind, it feels so good." This simple statement echoes the prayer-like beginning, reminding us that fatherhood, like the rain and wind, is an elemental part of life. The repetition of wind and rain throughout the poem ties everything together—fatherhood is not about grand declarations, but about the small, repeated acts of attention, care, and storytelling.

Ortiz’s use of free verse and shifting perspectives allows the poem to flow naturally, much like the spring water it describes. The balance between past and present reinforces the idea that fatherhood is not just about the child’s future but about anchoring them in the wisdom and experiences of the past. The poem’s tone is both gentle and firm, filled with a quiet reverence for life and the responsibilities that come with it.

"Expectant Father" is ultimately a meditation on fatherhood as an act of observation, tenderness, and continuity. Ortiz reminds us that to be a father is not just to welcome a child into the world, but to teach them how to see it, how to taste the water, feel the wind, and understand the stories that shaped them before they were even born.

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