In Ndrek Gjini’s “Letter from My Father,” a father writes to his son to say he cannot visit. His reason is not ordinary: spring has arrived, and he is too busy. He turns the season into a calendar of social events—the snow’s funeral, leaf buds’ birthday parties, the flowers’ weddings—and says he cannot miss any of them. The voice is warm and quietly playful, but the ending shifts. He mentions that death invited him last month too, and he gave the same answer: “It’s spring...I’m busy.” That twist makes the poem feel tender and brave. The father’s busyness becomes a gentle way of choosing life, of staying absorbed in the world’s renewal instead of giving in to fear. The mood is bittersweet and full of quiet humor, shadowed by mortality but still rooted in spring.
Letter from My Father — Summary
My dear son, thanks for the invitation but I can’t come. It’s spring time now and you should know that I am busy.
The snow just died and I have to go to its funeral. Leaf buds are going to be born soon and I have to attend their birthday parties. After that the flowers are going to have their wedding celebrations and I cannot miss those.
You know, last month death invited me too but I told it that I couldn't go. I said, “It’s spring...I'm busy”.