Even If You Weren't My Father

The first thing that I noticed about the poem by Camillo Sbarbaro, "Even If You Weren't My Father," was that it seems to be translated from a different language. On the Internet, the poem is in a different language and everything about Sbarbaro is in a different language as well. That seems very different to me.

This poem seems very heart felt as well. Most authors don't seem as blunt as Sbarbaro is in this poem. They are normally more abstract and metaphoric about their topic, especially about families. But Sbarbaro comes right out and says how much he loves his father and how much he means to him. I also like how he broke up the poem in memories. The first one showed his love and dedication towards his children. The second stanza frightened me in the fact that the father was angrily chasing his little girl however. In no situation does that seem all that normal to me. But it then shows his compassion and warm heart towards his daughter as well.

My favorite part about the poem is how Sbarbaro repeats the line, "Father, even if you weren't my father, were you an utter stranger,..." It starts off the poem and ends it nicely.