Hans Ostrom’s “Request” speaks directly to a dead father, asking him to come back and revisit the speaker’s childhood. But this is not simply a wish to see him again. The speaker wants a different father: one who works, hunts, and drinks less, and who instead stays close, speaks kindly, and listens. The repetition of “being there a father” turns the phrase into a quiet ache. It suggests the father was physically present perhaps but emotionally absent, or that his habits kept him away. The poem has a tender, almost prayer-like mood, mixing grief with an old, unfulfilled hope. Because the request is impossible, the speaker’s longing feels all the more exposed—a child’s wish still alive in an adult’s voice.
Request — Summary
Hey, come out of death and follow me, father, back to my childhood,
where you must work and hunt and drink less and spend time next to me,
being there a father, talking to me kindly, listening to my words, being there a father.