This poem describes a father waltzing with his young son after drinking whiskey. Though the dancing is clumsy and rough, the son hangs onto his father desperately. The mother is unhappy with the scene, as evident by her permanently frowned countenance. Most students who read the poem along with accompanying pictures found the visuals helpful in understanding the relationship between the father and son, and seeing another perspective depicted in the work. They felt the images helped interpret the meaning and implications of the text.

1. Junyuan Secondary School
Secondary 1 English Literature
2012

2. 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 mother’s 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.

8. Questions Yes (%) No (%)
I feel that the use of
pictures is helpful
65 35
The pictures help me to
understand what the
poem is about
85 15
The pictures help me to
think about the
relationship between the
father and the son
82 18
The pictures help me to
see another side of the
issue
79 21
In the future, I am going
to use the pictures to
help me understanding
of words/ expressions
74 26