"The Empty Spaces" pg. 76
Out of the Dust: Karen Hesse
Bach / Marcello Adagio - Concerto in D minor
Stanza From Poem / Interpretation
1st Stanza
I don’t know my father anymore.
he sits across from me,
he looks like my father,
he chews food like my father,
he brushes his dusty hair back
like my father,
but he is a stranger.2nd Stanza
I am awkward with him,
and irritated,
and I want to be alone
but I am terrified of being alone.
3rd Stanza
We are both changing,
we are shifting to fill the empty spaces left by Ma.
I keep my raw and stinging hands
behind my back when he comes near
because he
stares
when he sees them
Tone/Mood
The overall tone or mood of "The Empty spaces" for Billy Joe would be sad, wishful, and longing. This is because she wanted her mother back and wishes she had never gone anywhere.
The Empty Spaces
I don’t know my father anymore.
he sits across from me,
he looks like my father,
he chews food like my father,
he brushes his dusty hair back
like my father,
but he is a stranger.
I am awkward with him,
and irritated,
and I want to be alone
but I am terrified of being alone.
We are both changing,
we are shifting to fill the empty spaces left by Ma.
I keep my raw and stinging hands
behind my back when he comes near
because he
stares
when he sees them
September 1934