Title

Based on the title I believe the poem will be about Marvin's feelings towards his dad after his death. "An Afterword To My Father" makes me believe that he is talking to his dad or telling a story about his dad after he has passed. Maybe even it's what he would want his last words to be to his father; We will see as we read.

Paraphrase

Line 1: "Still the wood I knocked on". Marvin is saying, after your death I still tried to call out to you. Sounds like he is still longing for something that is not there. Line 2: "is the family tree. I'm not a god,". He is knocking on the family tree but he is not God. He has to be the man of the house without his father there but he has not the powers of God because he is just man. line 3: "I haven't the face for it". He doesn't have the appearance to be God. He says that he can not be what he needs to because he is not ready or he feels he doesn't have the appearance of the man he has to be. Line 4: "Devotion is my disease,". He is saying his love for his father is his disease. Maybe it means he can not move on or maybe the love holds him back from something. Line 5: "or a way out. That accounts". Now he says that maybe the love is his way out and it accounts for something else now. Line 6: "for sons, and for everything". His devotion is the reason for everything he does now. So it sounds like he is saying the situation has changed him and shaped how he does and views things. Line 7: "Not so much "enough"". Here it sounds like he is saying he does not have enough of something and we can infer he needs more of whatever is missing. Line 8: "there is more to be done". Now he gets into what he has to do. He says "more to be done", as if he has not fulfilled his duties to do something. If this is a letter to his father then maybe he believes him and his father have unfinished business. Line 9: "yes, and to be done with". So, not only is there more to be done but to be done with. I think he is done with a chapter in his life and wants to move forward now. Line 10: "You were the sun and moon". Now I believe he really is talking to his dad saying "You were the sun and the moon". Breaking this down we can say that his world revolved around his father or even that he was always around his father. During the span of a day the sun is up then the moon is up, so this quote has something to do with the time he spent with his father. Line 11: "Now darkness loves me;". So now that his father is gone and there is no more sun or moon there is only darkness. Now darkness loves him because that's all that he sees now. I think he is filled with a void or something like emptiness. Line 12: "the lights come on". This line is a little confusing. Before he was talking about how the dark loves him but now he says the light comes on. This could be like a light in his head, which is figuratively speaking or the literal meaning of a light turning on. Either way something had been realized and he is now out of the dark. 

Connotation

From a literal meaning the poem is a story about someone who has lost their father and is now lost because their father was their everything. Then all of a sudden something clicks and a "light comes on". This can be taken many different way, bad or good. We can tell though that it is good because of the figurative language and connotation the poet uses. The overall connotation is good. the terminology in the poem invokes happiness and pity, in a sense, from the reader. Phrases like "Devotion is my disease", and "You were the son and moon" give off the sense that the character in the poem feels sad but gets some sort of happiness from the situation in knowing that their father is in a better place. That's what we can infer. These emotions from the character evoke a happiness in the reader of the poem. In the poem the poet uses figurative language to change the mood of the poem and evoke emotions from the reader. The author uses metaphor, "You were my sun and moon", and also imagery, "the light comes on" along with other to show state of the character and like I said before shift the mood. The metaphor can mean that the character was around their father all the time or that he was their world but we don't know for sure. The use of imagery suggest that the character has an afterthought, which would make sense considering the title. Or maybe that the character has accepted life. Nevertheless, the connotation and figurative language set the tone and all other elements of the poem. 

Attitude/Tone

The speaker's attitude is laid back. They're not mad or upset. If anything they are sad about their father it seems. The speaker seems sad but also grateful to have spent the time they did with their father. The speaker having a good tone can be felt through the poem as the poem speaks about their father and you see them still void inside but happy with life and getting through. 

Shifts

There are no major shifts in the poem, just shift in tone and emotion. The emotions switch from a more sad, reminiscent feel to a more happy, understanding feel. The poem switches mid-poem when the speaker says, "Not so much "enough" there is more to be done". It's like after saying that the speaker realizes they can not just be sad and dwell on what they can't control but rather appreciate it and learn and move forward. 

Title

After reading the poem, dissecting it and interpreting what it means on a figurative and literal level I have a new insight in what the title means. I wasn't sure before but the title means what it says. It is a "afterword" to the speakers father. The poem is of the speaker talking to his father after he has already passed just letting him know how their doing and what life is like without him. It's like the last goodbye the speaker has to their father. 

Theme

I can infer that the poem is about love and how you have to let love go. Letting go and moving on is the theme of this poem, I feel. The author believes that moving on is important in moving forward. The speaker is talking to his father afterwards, so the father is not in the present with the speaker. The speaker talks about life to the father then goes on to say "the lights come on" suggesting that the speaker has moved on.