The poet is remembering his initial reaction to the news of his father's death. He had just turned ten and realised that he could use his bereavement to gain a temporary release from bullying and a brief period at the center of attention.

I don't really relate to any of this poem, never having had a close relative die, been physically bullied or enjoyed having all eyes "turned towards me". However, I do like "brown tobacco jar/Splintered at once in tears". Good "ooh" metaphor (the "ooh" techniques are the ones I referred to at the end of my first response to It Was Long Ago; I give them this name because they make you go "ooh"). The rest of the poem is not terribly exciting.