Thank you, Wiley. I've been enjoying this over the past few days.
Interesting that the poet uses more strokes to characterize the person he isn't (i.e., the hypothetical "hated" person in the final stanza, who would take the table for granted and fail to appreciate its company through life's ups and downs) than he uses to characterize his "faithful wife" and the precious children nearly lost to illness, who also accompanied him through those ups and downs. He bravely wrestles with the enormity of his feelings for them--particularly the children--but reveals no glimpses of their unique personalities. (Perhaps this was intentional, to make the narrator an Everyman.)
Julie Stoner
[This message has been edited by Julie Stoner (edited October 29, 2005).]
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