In this beautiful elegy, the speaker takes us through his father's life in all its seasons. We don't use the word "seasons" lightly either; the speaker spends a boatload of time talking about spring, summer, fall, and winter—with an extra dose of spring. Throughout the poem, we hear all about how the speaker's father was incredibly generous, fought conformity, and inspired all those around him to be the best that they can be. (Trust us: it sounds way less cliché when the speaker says it all poetically.)
Though the poem definitely doesn't shy away from the difficulties of life, it has a pretty inspirational feel. It gets a little dark when the speaker seems to be describing his father's soul leaving behind the evils of the world. In the end, however, the speaker wraps it up with the positive idea that his father's life was awesome because he lived it as hard as he could. And even better, he lived for love, which is the only thing that really matters after all.