Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Kenneth Koch's poem "To My Father's Business" offers a penetrating exploration of a universal theme-filial expectation and the generational gap between parent and child. The poem is deeply rooted in a specific time and place: a furniture business named C. Loth Inc., set in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1940. Leo, the speaker's father, owns the business and takes evident pride in his work, emphasizing his expectations that his son Kenny (the poet) will one day work there as well.

Koch addresses the complicated emotions that often accompany family legacies. Leo is shown as a character immersed in his work, "bending over his desk" and discussing orders for desks from "Youngstown Needle and Thread." The tone suggests that the father's work brings him genuine fulfillment, casting him as "Balboa the conqueror" of a specific niche market. This happiness is something that the young Kenny observes but cannot quite absorb as a goal for his own life.

The poem's emotional crux resides in the line where Kenny's father says, "Kenny, he says, some day you'll work in the store." Yet the speaker feels "never more" or "never ever," encapsulating his ambivalence and sense of impending distance. Harvard, World War Two, and psychoanalysis are cited as elements that "saved" him from becoming part of the business. These are realms far removed from the practical, everyday concerns of a furniture store in Ohio, and they represent the intellectual and experiential chasm between father and son.

The speaker does acknowledge the virtues of his father's business, seeing the "sense of balance" and "compromise and acceptance" that come from working there. These are attributes often found in stable, family-run ventures. Yet they are not enough for the speaker. The virtues of "not isolated moments of brilliance" do not satisfy his yearning for something more transcendent. The metaphor of a "girl without a shoe" illustrates his desire for a life punctuated by moments of striking originality and brilliance, even if they are 'isolated.'

Koch also comments on the value system surrounding the world of business, epitomized by the pamphlets handed out at the store. These pamphlets, simplistic narratives of men succeeding through sheer hard work, reflect a certain ideal of the American Dream. But Kenny rejects this simplistic narrative, perhaps recognizing that life's fulfillment is not so easily distilled into maxims and cliches.

Toward the end of the poem, Koch pays homage to the "secretaries" who "clicked their Smith Coronas closed at five p.m." and "took the streetcars to Kentucky then." In these lines, Koch captures a snapshot of a bygone era, where jobs had clearly defined boundaries and workers had an unspoken commitment to the continuity and well-being of a local business. Kenny, on the other hand, is part of a new generation that is less rooted, both geographically and vocationally.

"To My Father's Business" serves as an emotional time capsule, capturing the complexities of a father-son relationship set against the backdrop of an older America. In this sense, Koch's poem is not just a personal reflection but a portrait of a changing societal landscape, one where generational roles are shifting, and where the expectations of parents and the dreams of their children are finding new, if dissonant, harmonies.

Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!

Other Poems of Interest...