Balsa Wood
This poem highlights the confusion of a child when they can sense something is off with their family but are not mature enough to interpret or understand it. The innocence and reliance of the child is portrayed in the basic narration of the opening line 'My dad is at the stove in front of a pan with brains and eggs.' The plural noun 'brains,' is symbolic of the deep issue within the family and the contemplation of it wearing on the father, as it is literally portrayed to "fry his brain." This imagery is continued in 'The last thing I recall is the smell of burned brains and eggs.' The alliteration of 'burned brains,' emphasizes that this issues has reached its climax and is very apparent within the room, yet Carver as a child does not fully understand it.
As Carver narrates 'the whole morning is shoveled into the garbage and mixed with other things,' it becomes apparent that the issue is underlying and affects everyday family life, yet is discarded and not entirely dealt with. The severity and melancholic nature of this issue is emphasized by the repetition and non-specificity of 'Someone's crying.'
The innocence and immaturity of Carver as a child at this point is further depicted in his sensory description, 'I smell the airplane glue on my fingers.' And he becomes more aware of situations and approaches a discovery of real life when an adult in, 'I was beginning to understand how it's possible to be in one place. And someplace else too.' The caesura in this line emphasizes how profound this lesson is for young Carver.
Happiness
Carver begins this poem with an oxymoron of sorts 'So early it's still almost dark out.' Whilst true of the morning time it gives a sense of confusion as well as a lighthearted daze as he sits in a morning haze. He reveals that he's 'near the window with coffee and the usual early morning stuff that passes for thought,' which emphasize the haze of morning time as one tries to wake up fully and prepare for the day. At the end of the poem he states that 'happiness...goes beyond, really, any early morning talk about it.,' which portrays happiness as a state not a discussion or conversation.
Carver also separates happiness from other emotions and feelings in ,'Such beauty that for a minute death and ambition, even love doesn't enter into this.' In this way, he highlight the simplicity of happiness, which correlates with the simplicity of the morning, and the simplicity of 'the boy and his friend,' who 'aren't saying anything,' but seem to be enjoying 'doing this thing together.'
