Unveiling

I really liked this poem; I thought it was sweet but melancholy.  He remembers a time when his family was all together, eating together, spending time together, but now most of them are past.  I noticed this poem was written during the Great Depression which explained a lot.  A lot of people lost their families during this time and Pastan is just missing them.
I also get a sense of "survivors guilt" when I read this.  The line "I don't feel bad for them, just left out a bit as if they kept from me the kind of..."  He seems to want to be with them.  So maybe it's not so much a guilt but an envy.  These were hard times and he wishes he could be living the easy life of death.  But at the same time, he knows its not his time to die.  He has things to do before he is ready to be done.
P.S. I like these poems a lot better Mrs White