For Elkana
by Nissim Ezekiel
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A warm, gently humorous poem about an ordinary evening in family life. On a warm April evening the poet and his wife drag their chairs onto the lawn to sit in companionable silence. The wife surveys the scene, comments on a broken window-pane and suggests things every husband knows how to fix, except, of course, the one she loves. The poet, unwilling to dispute that she is 'always right', turns to the more attractive view 'behind my eyes'. Their seven-year-old son Elkana appears and firmly demands his dinner 'now'. Parents in 'unusual rapport' silently agree that 'Children Must be Disciplined', and the wife tells him to wait five minutes. But the boy insists, 'not in five minutes, now', reasoning that in five minutes he won't be hungry any more. This logic delights the poet, and the wife's 'delightful laughter' holds the three of them together as they rise and go into the house. The poem tenderly captures the everyday texture of family communication.
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An evening on the lawn
On a warm April evening the poet and his wife drag their chairs down the stone steps onto the lawn and sprawl in silence until words begin to come. The wife, 'as is her way', surveys the scene and comments on a broken window-pane, suggesting repairs that 'every husband in the neighbourhood' knows how to do, except the man she loves.
The husband's retreat
Unwilling to dispute the 'obvious fact' that his wife is always right, the poet turns instead to 'the more attractive view / that opens up / behind my eyes', retreating into his own thoughts and shutting her out. Her voice 'crawls up and down the lawn'.
Elkana's demand
Their seven-year-old son Elkana appears, legs apart and chin uplifted, to 'speak his truth in masterly determination': 'Mummy, I want my dinner, now.' Wife and husband, in 'unusual rapport', share one unspoken thought, 'Children Must be Disciplined', and the wife firmly tells him to wait five minutes.
The child's logic
The boy refuses to wait: 'not in five minutes, now. / I am hungry', declaring that in five minutes he won't be hungry any more. This argument appeals to the poet, who feels 'such a logician deserves his dinner straightaway'. The wife's 'delightful laughter / holds the three of us together', and they rise and go into the house.