Let’s put your critical thinking skills to use. There is a debate about what Theodore Roethke poem, “My Papa’s Waltz.  Some see this as a thinly disguised depiction of child abuse. Others interpret the poem as a  fun-filled (if rough) evening between loving father and his son.

Read the poem below, then In 100-200 words,  write a ROGERIAN FIRST PARAGRAPH for a paper, explaining both positions equally without taking sides. Study the document on “Rogerian Argument” in this week’s module for the details.

**This is going to be tough for those of you who have strong opinions. give it a try!
My Papas Waltz
BY THEODORE ROETHKE (Links to an external site.)
The whiskey on your breath 
Could make a small boy dizzy; 
But I hung on like death: 
Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans 
Slid from the kitchen shelf; 
My mothers countenance 
Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist 
Was battered on one knuckle; 
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head 
With a palm caked hard by dirt, 
Then waltzed me off to bed 
Still clinging to your shirt.