Sons

I believe that Sons is about the connection and the relationship that Abse shares with his son and the positivity that he has for his family. 'Sons' I believe also shows a comparison between the life that his son leads and the life that Abse led and his age. Therefore, the main themes that I believe are in this poem are relationships, love and family.
Due to this, I believe that this immediately links to 'Dockery and Son' by Larkin, as Larkin is very negative towards family and the thought of bringing up children whereas Abse is very positive towards family and the connection that you feel between yourself and your children. The shows a comparison between Abse and Larkin. You can also link 'Sons' to 'Afternoons' by Larkin through the inclusion of children in both poems.
One of the things that I found interesting about this poem was the rhyme scheme that Abse chose to use. This can be seen in "way" and "day"; "dash" and "brash"; "hide", "abide" and "side" and "quite", "night" and "bright". This rhyme scheme is regular which suggests that his relationship with his son is also and that there is a parallel connection between the father and son.
Another thing that I found interesting about this poem was the line "Too soon maturity will switch off your night". I believe that this suggests that Abse is trying to warn his son to spend his time wisely and to enjoy being young while he can. I also feel that Abse wishes he was still at that age when things were easier than they are now. This also links in with the line "Now my son is like that" which suggests that when he was that age, he was doing the exact same thing. This could suggest that linking with the first line that he wishes he'd have done things differently and this is therefore why he is warning his son not to do the same.
I also found the structure quite interesting as the first stanza focuses on the reflection of his own life while the rest of the stanzas focus on his son's life.