This is where I feel ‘recovery’ becomes an evident part of the poem; by over-coming the shock of being alone and conducting his life ton the conventions know to society as ‘normality’ he has ‘recovered’ from this event in his life.
The ‘recovery’ of America and rest of the world mirror this in ‘Empty Sky’ rather obviously after the nine-eleven tragedy.
Though ‘Empty Sky’ is, in fact, a song, its lyrics can be analysed to uncover meanings and motives like any piece of poetry.
This song was written by Bruce Springsteen to feature on his album dedicated to the American tragedy. Each song was written about a real life account from the victim’s relatives and survivors.
The component of biographical truth enhances the effect on readers and listeners alike – because it’s real.
Here I would like to shift the concentration back to ‘Mother’ and emphasise the connection of real life and relativity within the writing.
The adventure of leaving the family home where security has usually provided a carefree life for most young people is something that everyone does at some point. This makes this poem a powerful text to read as everyone reading relates to the thought or experience of leaving the people they love at some time or another.
Feelings of missing loved ones are also abundant in ‘Empty Sky’ from lines like:
“Just an empty impression, in the bed where you used to be.”
OR the repetition of this line in two verses:
“I want a kiss from your lips.”
The need for interaction with the missing person is need as it is here in ‘Mother’:
“You at zero ends, me with the spool of tape…unreeling years between us.”
Presenting to an analyst, desperation that contact should be renewed and regret that it was ever lost.
Family ties are another element fixating the reader into deep reactions towards the two texts, as again it’s something every person associates easily with.
‘Family’ is obvious in ‘Mother’ because of the title and the contents of events and point of view within the poem.
The song however, is connected to this epithet through its origin of victim’s relatives and the line:
“I hear the blood of my blood…”
I looked upon this to mean the blood of a descendant, a son, a daughter, granddaughter etc.
Though an angle came up in the discussions about the lyrics that this line could have the patriotic rhythm of ‘The Nations Blood.”
The writer backs up this vibe (in my opinion) himself.
Bruce Springsteen is an iconic figure in the music industry in America and throughout the rest of the world. To hear him sing about this sensational event has a powerful impact on his nation and fans across the globe.
The last point I am going to draw attention to is ‘Emphasis’.
This is a large part of any song or poem and without it the reader/listener is left with no feeling or recognition of emotions presented.
But these two texts produce emphasis in two very different ways.
‘Mother’ represents the use of lists to bring to prominence the feeling that he mother and son/daughter are being drawn apart in the second stanza.
“…centimetres back to back, then leaving up the stairs, the line still feeding out, unreeling years between us.”
This method means different examples of the same feelings/emotions are being projected into the readers mind so that every observer finds something to relate to.
Also the last two words in this stanza are the final attempt by the author at specifying that distance is being created:
“…Anchor. Kite”
One falls to the bottom of the ocean the other floats into the sky – the furthest distance between two objects.
Though this could also indicate that the mother (the anchor) stays firm and supports the roaming kite (the son).
The other method of emphasis, as in Springsteen’s song, is repetition. With songs this can be successfully accomplished without boring the audience because of the accompaniment of music.
The chorus’ simple composition is also a way of drawing maximum attention to the words:
“Empty Sky, Empty Sky, I woke up this morning to an Empty Sky.”
The literal meaning of this would most probably be that the World Trade Centre’s ‘Twin Towers’ are no longer in the skyline of New York.
But it could also mean the empty segments of the lives of the relatives to those that did not survive.
I believe the most interesting points of all I have mentioned are those of the reader/listener’s relation to the texts, through everyday experiences in life and horrendous struggles that are sometimes difficult to recover from at all.
Also the point of distance in relationships and how people cope with these out comes whether by choice or by chance.
