Holm is a short story and novel author, and a freelance writer. In this essay, Holm looks at how Hashimoto's poem addresses indecision and discomfort about aging and death.

Sharon Hashimoto's "What I Would Ask My Husband's Dead Father" is a poem that explores a number of ideas in a very short space. Perhaps most obviously, the theme of indecision is addressed. But the poem also has much to say about society's perception of elders and of the dead. This poem contrasts the romantic and the idealistic with gritty reality. And finally, and maybe most important, "What I Would Ask My Husband's Dead Father" asks the question: do the dead continue to know about and care about what goes on here on earth? Even though the title of the poem is a statement, the poem really is a large question that deals with issues and decisions that...