The Family Tree

[Animal Riots Activist]

Hello Mr. Becker, I haven't read any of the other reviews, but I figure I'll take my crack at it before I do. Here it goes:

The Family Tree -some titles have the ability to change the context of the poem so completely. Had I read this poem without this title, I would've read it differently to be sure. I think in this case it works fairly well; it adds a nice double meaning to the poem.

Even in broad daylight,
while children laugh and play omit laugh. It's a tad cliche, and a bit redundant (often when kids play they also laugh).
on the new tire swing, I find myself wanting more description of the tire swing. The poem seems to ride on it the whole time.
granddaddy won't go near

that gnarled old southern oak.  -this enjambment would be alright for me if it were in the same stanza. The isolation makes it a bit jarring for me. Still a fantastic line though

He says it’s not alright
for respectable folks
to let children play there. The more I read this poem, the more I like these last 2 stanzas.

But for these kids it’s just
a tree, and when they swing
now, they swing free.


… mb

Overall, fantastic work. Brevity is definitely a gift in my opinion, and you execute it perfectly here. As my comments would suggest, the first stanza needs a little bit of tweaking, but aside from that it really reads like a complete poem. Thanks for the read.

-Em