My Uncle, by Lorna Goodison

Today I re-read one of my favourite poems by one of my favourite authors Lorna Goodison, entitled My Uncle. I share it here: 

Her poem expresses love for a recently deceased father through the careful craft of his progeny.

Her uncles feature in Goodison's beautifully written 'From Harvey River: The Story of My Mother and Her People', a five generation memoir of her maternal kin in Hanover, Jamaica.

This deeply evocative description of the family's provision at a plentiful funeral illustrates affect in many material forms. To give a splendid funeral with all the trimmings is to publicly declare familial care for a departing ancestor. In the Caribbean fatherly provision constitutes care. Thus, reciprocal provision during his death rite expresses mutual caring and regard towards a father's spirit. Since Lorna's craft is words, her poem seems an apt contribution to the death rite.

Lorna and her poem speak more eloquently for themselves than my analysis might ever hope to, so I will leave it here.


Source:
Lorna Goodison (1988) 'My Uncle',Caribbean Quarterly,Vol. 44, No. 1/2,