I think it's a bit morbid

to be writing eulogies for people who aren't dead. but that's precisely why an elegy is written. NOT a eulogy. there's a huge difference, obviously, between dead and alive. now, all dead and mostly dead you'd have to consult Miracle Max on. but, dead v. alive, I can do.

anyway, the speaker in the poem definitely sounds a little fearful of his life after his father's death. he says repeatedly that his father is ready to go. this sounds just fine, right? but that's not how he feels. he doesn't want his father to die, obviously. largely due to the fact that he doesn't believe that he'll see his father ever again, I think.

the last few lines really provide some powerful imagery too. his father's death is an embarkation, or so his father thinks. the speaker feels that it is much more permanent though. the speaker feels that his father will not ever see him standing on the dock shouting "Welcome back" because he's never coming back and the speaker is not going to be able to follow him. how sad.