My Papa's Waltz Response

My Papa's Waltz
                  by: Theodore Roethke

The wiskey on your breath
Could make a small boy dizzy;
But I hung on like death:
Such a waltzing was not easy.

We romped until the pans
Slid from the kitchen shelf;
My mother's countenance
Could not unfrown itself.

The hand that held the wrist
Was battered on one knuckled;
At every step you missed
My right ear scraped a buckle.

You beat time on my head
With a palm caked hard by dirt,
Then waltzed me off to bed
Still clinging to your shirt.

Response:
        When I first read this poem I had no idea what was going on. I reread the poem and figured that it was about a boy that was being abused by his father. It made me think 'was this the theme of the poem.' There were also several lines proving this point. ex: 'At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle'. I also realized that just because it says 'my right ear scraped a buckle' doesnt mean the boy's father beat him. If his father was tipsy and he missed a step in the waltz and the boy slipped and his ear grazed his father's belt buckle. I then decided to define the word 'countenance' I had an idea that it meant upset but helpless but i wanted a second opinion. The online definiton was 'n. to support or encouragement; sanction.' That brought me to another idea;  was she really incouraging her son and her husband to have this 'waltz' or fight. Or was this mother doing this to save herself from this horrible monster called: Papa.