Mother, any distance greater than a single span Essay Questions

How does the speaker feel about his impending adulthood?

Though the speaker is still on the brink of adulthood, several lines suggest that he is ready to take on the trials and tribulations that come with being an adult in the real world. From the onset, the speaker travels willingly through the house, heading to the loft that opens to the metaphorical sky of adulthood. Getting older is not something anyone has control over, but the speaker does not express anxiety about it. The only description that implies a sense of care and hesitation is when the speaker "space-[walks]" through the empty bedrooms. The otherworldliness of space is compared to the unknown territory of adulthood. But rather than fear the unknown, the speaker willingly reaches toward the hatch that opens up to the "endless sky" of adulthood. The speaker is aware of the equal opportunities to "fall or fly." In other words, he embraces the possibilities for both failure and success.

Describe the speaker's relationship with his mother over the course of the poem.

At the beginning of the poem, the speaker makes it clear that he needs his mother. Not everything can be done alone, and the speaker tells his mother that "any distance greater than a single span / requires a second pair of hands." The mother willingly comes to help the speaker measure parts inside a house. She remains at the "zero-end" or the base of the measuring tape, holding it steady as the speaker moves about and measures the walls, floors, and fixtures. This represents the stability she provides. But as the line feeds out and the years continue to pass, the speaker provides subtle hints of feeling burdened by his mother. Referring to their relationship as an "anchor" is the first hint of the speaker's burden. Though an anchor provides stability, it also prevents the vessel it is attached to from moving. The fact that the speaker "space-[walks]" through empty bedrooms upstairs shows that he feels a planet removed from his mother. When astronauts move in space, they are also always attached to something via a safety tether. This aligns with the consistent use of metaphors that illustrate a cord of connection between the speaker and his mother. All of them are reminiscent of an umbilical cord, the structure that attaches mothers to their babies during gestation.

Though this cord of connection has provided stability, the speaker is ready to forge his own independence as an adult. When he climbs the ladder to the loft, he calls this the "breaking point, where something / has to give" in his relationship to his mother. But below, the mother "still [pinches]" the last one-hundredth of an inch of measuring tape. On the one hand, this implies that she will always be there for the speaker. But on the other hand, it evokes the irritation or pain of being pinched. At the end of the poem, the speaker is ready to cut the cord that connected him to his mother during his childhood.

What does the description "Anchor. Kite" say about the speaker's relationship with his mother?

An anchor is a heavy device that prevents seagoing vessels such as ships from floating away. When a person is described as an anchor, it means that they provide a sense of safety and stability. However, an anchor also keeps ships in place, and so the use of this word to describe the speaker's relationship with his mother adds a layer of complexity. The word anchor suggests that the mother provides safety, but that at the same time, the speaker feels stuck in place because of her. Especially because the speaker has an upward momentum in terms of moving through the house (and through the years), the word "anchor" signifies that he feels held back.

A kite is a toy flown in the air for the purpose of entertainment. It consists of a light frame covered with paper or cloth attached to a long string controlled by a handheld spool. A kite may fly freely through the air according to the wind, but there has to be a person below controlling the length of the string. This implies that even in moments where the speaker feels like he is already flying freely in the sky, he is aware of the string attaching him to his mother.

Both anchors and kites are devices that involve a string, rope, or chain, and in the poem they serve to complicate the metaphor of the measuring device—a physical cord connecting the speaker to his mother.