A Kite for Michael and Christopher is a poem by the poet Seamus Heaney. It is about the childhood memories, particularly the time he spent with his father. The theme of childhood and its importance in everyone’s life is central to this work. The author seeks to convey to readers the idea that, regardless of age, everyone is, in fact, a child (Lloyd 81). People and events that accompany people in their early years strongly influence behavior in adulthood and affect their worldview and goals.
The role of parents in childhood is enormous, all the time spent with them, even over the most mundane activities, is very valuable. In this poem, the author vividly and figuratively depicted an episode from the childhood when he and his father were flying a kite. This activity would later become a favorite for the future poetess; in adult years, it would be a source of warm memories. The childhood episode described in the poem is not only nostalgic but also contains an allegory.
But now it was far up like a small black lark
and now it dragged as if the bellied string
were a wet rope hauled upon
to life a shoal. (Heaney 47)
In this quatrain, by describing the distancing kite, the poetess is alluding to the idea of childhood distancing itself from people as life goes on. Nevertheless, the threads connecting the child to the kite represent the person’s unbreakable connection to the early years of his life (Dawe 112). The beauty of the soaring serpent, symbolizing carefree and fun, is conveyed by colorful epithets and similes. This poem touches on a universal theme that is understandable and close to every reader. The lines of this work encourage people to dive into their own memories from childhood, to reflect on how certain episodes affect adult life, and to remember what was then the source of happiness. The poet managed to achieve this effect thanks to the colorful means of expression.
Works Cited
Dawe, Gerald. The Cambridge Companion to Irish Poets. Cambridge University Press, 2018.
Heaney, Seamus. Selected Poems 1988–2013. Later prt., Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2014.
Lloyd, David. Counterpoetics of Modernity: On Irish Poetry and Modernism. Edinburgh University Press, 2022.