Parents

“Parents” attempts to speak about a common truth. While everyone has different experiences in their lives, including various kinds of relationships with their parents, the poem’s thesis is as universal a concept as there is for people, no matter the time they live in or the place. The poem says time offers perspective. And in the speaker’s mind, that perspective comes from the relationship people have with their parents.

To understand the poem’s message, it is important to consider the speaker. He writes the poem from a position of understanding, suggesting he is already an experienced adult at the beginning of the poem. He presents the perspective of both a child and a parent, and he presents his perspective through the first-person plural. By using the first-person plural, the speaker tries to speak for all people. He believes his experience is universal. Using words like “we” and “our” makes the reader feel included in the poet’s experience. The poet’s perspective also suggests a kind of wisdom. He writes with the confidence that others share his experiences, and the only way he knows this is because he is experienced enough to have seen the things he describes in his own life and in other people’s lives.