The Victims by Sharon Olds

This poem is reflecting on society, and how divorce is commonplace.
The point of view is relevant in this poem, because it starts off from the point of view of a young child. This child is obviously angry with their father, which is apparent in the line "When Mother divorced you, we were glad." The child appears to be speaking on behalf of their siblings, who also apparently were fed up with their father. The child also implies that the mother was abused due to the next line that says "She took it and took it, in silence". Another way point of view is important to this poem is because of the happiness they felt when their father was fired, and the description of their job being taken away. They described the suits as "those dark carcasses hung in your closet", which implies that they hated that their father worked and dreaded those suits because it meant less attention for the child.
The point of view soon shifts to the child growing up and stating that they "pass the bums in doorways". This shows a shift in the tone of the poem, which is another device used to promote the meaning of this poem, because the speaker realizes that their mother set out to completely destroy their fathers life. The child, now an adult, is watching the men and wondering "who took it and took it from them in silence until they had given it all away and had nothing left but this".
The tone adds to the meaning of the poem because at first it shows innocence, because the child feels like the father is getting what he deserves for ignoring them. However, they never realize til adulthood that the mother instigated their hatred. The speaker writes "She had taught us to take it, to hate you and take it until we pricked with her for your annihilation, Father." This is where the tone shifts, because the speaker becomes somewhat regretful for how they treated their father, yet blames it on the mother.