Analysis Of Cathy Linh Che's Poem Go Forget Your Father

The speaker of the poem “Go Forget Your Father” by Cathy Linh Che seems to be reminiscing the past, which refuses to be forgotten, and pondering the future, which refuses to the revealed. The speaker talks about herself hurting over her breakup along with the relationship with her father. The word “fog” best captures the essence of the poem; it represents the uncertainty and mysteriousness of everything and conveys the heavy tone. Che writes, “I’ve been hiding / from my father” (6-7). The speaker speaks of her father throughout the poem as if he were someone of the past, long gone. A fog obscures objects, making it an easy way to escape reality. The dreary tone of the poem is reinforced by “Fog-damp pall over the city” impending a deep sense of apprehension (8). A city in a fog progresses very slowly, one must be careful to avoid the danger lurking within

After the events mentioned beforehand in the poem, it seems like her feelings are all mixed up. Just like when a fog eventually lifts, and everything will become visible again, maybe one day, the speaker will know what the future holds for her will get over the past. Che further writes, “You’d become less than a feeling, / the way every lover I’ve known” (26-27). When the speaker finally gets over her breakup, she will be free again, just like after every one of her breakups. A fog must lift and when it does, everyone gets liberated from the uncertainty of everything. The poem, which talks about a conflicting relationship with the speaker’s father and the heartache from a recent breakup, conveys a deep sense of unpredictability and mystery. The tone that the speaker uses is dreary, but also hopeful at the end, that one day, she may be free from all the pains that she is undergoing right now. The word “fog” best encapsulates all of this as it represents uncertainty, but hope and joy when it finally