Father to Son Class 11 Book-Hornbill Poem-5 Summary
0Team Eklavyaमार्च 11, 2025
I do not understand this child
Though we have lived together now
In the same house for years. I know
Nothing of him, so try to build
Up a relationship from how
He was when small. Yet have I killed
The seed I spent or sown it where
The land is his and none of mine?
We speak like strangers, there’s no sign
Of understanding in the air.
This child is built to my design
Yet what he loves I cannot share.
Silence surrounds us. I would have
Him prodigal, returning to
His father’s house, the home he knew,
Rather than see him make and move
His world. I would forgive him too,
Shaping from sorrow a new love.
Father and son, we both must live
On the same globe and the same land,
He speaks: I cannot understand
Myself, why anger grows from grief.
We each put out an empty hand,
Longing for something to forgive.
Summary
The father does not understand his son and feels like they are strangers despite living in the same house for years.
He remembers how his son was when he was small and wonders if he failed as a parent in shaping his child’s life.
They do not share common interests, and the father feels disconnected from what his son loves.
There is a lack of communication between them, and the father wants his son to come back and rebuild their bond, just like the biblical story of the prodigal son (a son who returns home after being lost).
The father is ready to forgive him and hopes they can create a new relationship based on love and understanding.
In the end, both father and son feel lonely, unable to understand each other, and longing for forgiveness.
Explanation
The poem shows the generation gap between parents and children.
The father wants to connect but doesn’t know how, while the son is also confused about his own emotions.
The theme of the poem is love, misunderstanding, and the desire for reconciliation.
It highlights how emotional distance can grow in relationships and the need for communication and forgiveness to mend them.
