It is clear that the theme is loneliness because of all the evidence that supports the idea that Li-Young feels lonely without his father to watch over him. The beginning of the second stanza states: “Once, years ago, I walked alongside my father among the bargain pears. » (8-9). This line illustrates a photogenic memory from the time when the speaker and his father walked together along the pear trees. There is nothing unique or special about this moment, but it is a moment where the speaker really felt the closeness he had with him. Li-Young compares his father to a cardinal: “I turn around. A cardinal disappears” (5). He also remembers the death of his father. The period that divides the lineage creates a sharp turn of events for the son. The bird represents affection and love and suggests that Li-Young's father died very unexpectedly. This dramatic change in events showed the son how the love he received from his father had disappeared from his life forever. Li-Young cherishes memories like those described throughout the poem, even though they are memories that remind him that he is now alone. The speaker states in the third stanza that he is talking about the death of his father. He sees his deceased father waving to him near the trees, and this imagination quickly disappears. The last stanza illustrates a dinner of green peas, rice, and shrimp. Li-Young drowns in his own loneliness and learns a lot about himself by eating alone. Sharing meals with our family is a common practice, and eating alone is considered “socially awkward.” A common assumption many people make about those who eat alone is that they themselves are unhappy and lonely, and this is certainly the case for Li-Young as he loves and misses his late father very much..