Elegy for My Father, Who Is Not Dead

This poem has a unique structure as it has a random break in the middle of the poem.  This break could be just a misprint, but it also could mean a major shift in the poem.  The second part is more like an elegy because it talks about the father in a way such that he is getting ready to die.  He states that his father is ready for death because he sees it as a new journey and an opportunity to "see fresh worlds."  He expects to see his son again and welcome him like one would think would happen in heaven.  On the other hand, the speaker is definitely not ready for death unlike his father.  He explains that he could not drop everything and say goodbye to everyone.  Since the father is not dead, I think the son is writing this to elegize his father who is fighting in a war.  He talks about how "one day I'll lift the telephone and be told my father's dead."  The father sees immortality as something that exists because we just continue living traveling through different worlds.  The son sees immortality as irrational because once we die here on earth, life stops.