anyone_have_an_idea_as_to_what_this_writng_means agirlaskedmeabouththemeaningofthis "your father's gone," my bald headmaster said. his shiny dome and brown tobacco jar splintered at once in tears. it wasnt grief i cried for knowledge which was bitterer than any grief. for there and then i knew that grief has uses- that a father dead could bind the bully's fist a week or two and then i cried for shame then for relief 050913 ... dipperwell Well, to be literal, he learns from his school principal that his father has died. This memory is bitter not because of his grief, but because his first reaction is relief - relief because he will have a week or so free from the tormenting of his bully - since everyone will avoid him awhile, politely, assuming he is grieving for his dad. Then he feels guilty, realizing that he is feeling relief from what ought to be disastrous, and this is even more painful. This is actually from a very beautiful poem called The Lesson, by Edward Lucie-Smith, which goes: "Your father's gone," my bald headmaster said. His shining dome and brown tobacco jar Splintered at once in tears. It wasn't grief. I cried for knowledge which was bitterer Than any grief. For there and then I knew That grief has its uses -- that a father dead Could bind a bully's fist a week or two; And then I cried for shame, then for relief. I was a month past ten when I learnt this: I still remember how the noise was stilled In school-assembly when my grief came in. Some goldfish in a bowl quietly sculled Around their shining prison on its shelf. They were indifferent. All the other eyes Were turned towards me. Somewhere in myself Pride, like a goldfish, flashed a sudden fin. - - - - - - - As you can see, he is pretty pitiful, to feel relief from his father's death simply because the bullying was so intense. But then, as the eyes of his schoolmates fall upon him, he suddenly feels a flash of pride - of resilience against their pitying eyes. It really is quite beautiful. 050913 what's it to you? who go blather from