Different views of immortality

In "Elegy for My Father, Who Is Not Dead," the father's view of immortality differs from the speaker's view of immortality. In the poem, the father is not dead; however, the speaker writes the elegy to their Father to tell him that they are not ready for him to leave because he is afraid he will never see him again. This is where the variation in immortality beliefs can be seen. The father thinks that he will meet his son again in the afterlife and "wrap [the speaker] in his arms and laugh, the way he did when [the speaker] arrived on earth." However, the speaker believes that there is no afterlife, and that after the Father dies, he will never see him again. In the line "I can't just say good-bye as cheerfully as if he were embarking on a trip to make my later trip go well," the speaker makes it apparent that he is being pessimistic about his father's view on death. He is not convinced that they will see each other again. Therefore, this poem can be seen as an elegy because it is the speaker's way of coping with his thoughts of his father's death.