The Gift By Li-Young Lee

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When reading the poem, “The Gift,” by Li-Young Lee, it can be interpreted many different ways. Upon initial reading, I took the poem very literal, but then I thought deeper and dug beneath the surface to realize the true meaning as to what Li-Young Lee was trying to say. As the author is removing a splinter from his wife 's hand, he has a flashback from the time when he was seven and his father removes a metal splinter from his palm. Although he was probably terrified at first, his father distracted him by reciting a tale. Lee mentions in the poem that he does not remember what the tale was about, but only that his father 's voice was “a well of dark water” and his hands were “two measures of tenderness.” The father here is showing