My dad did not connect to the actual material in the poem, but something about the poem made him want to read it in that moment. I thought about it a bit more, and thought about what draws us to poetry in the first place. Of course, a baby isn’t going to understand the poem, but it is interesting for a new parent to reach for such a poem to share with his daughter. The poem is fairly dark and has intense themes. His response was simple: “it’s a good poem.” That is true, but it still didn’t feel like enough of a justification. After I read the poem for class, I texted my dad and asked him why, of everything he could have chosen to read to me, he chose that poem. It’s an odd thing to read to a newborn baby, and it is the first thing that was ever read to me. Boulevard, Richmond, VA 23220-4007 USA, (Phone) 804.204.2760 or 804.204.2761, (Fax) I came home from the hospital after I was born, the first thing that my dad read to me was The Ballad of Reading Gaol. Requests to reproduce and/or republish any materials on this web site should be addressed to the VMFA Office of Rights and Reproductions at: (Address) 200 N.

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The ballad of gaol