"Those final sounds, however, are nothing like the wind moving through the vacancy of a mind."
— Rankine, Claudia (b. 1963)
Author
Work Title
Place of Publication
Minneapolis
Publisher
Graywolf Press
Date
2004
Metaphor
"Those final sounds, however, are nothing like the wind moving through the vacancy of a mind."
Metaphor in Context
He waits for his father's death. His father has been taken off the ventilator and clearly will not be able to breathe for himself much longer. Earlier in the day the nurse mentioned something about an electroencephalogram (EEG), which measures brain waves in the cerebral hemispheres, the parts of the brain that deal with speech and memory. But his brain stem is damaged; it seems now the test will not be necessary. The son expects an almost silent, hollow gasp to come from the old man's open mouth. Those final sounds, however, are nothing like the wind moving through the vacancy of a mind. The release is jerky and convulsive. There is never the rasp of the choke the son expects, though one meaning of worry is to be choked on, to choke on.
(p. 41)
(p. 41)
Categories
Provenance
Reading
Citation
Claudia Rankine, Don't Let Me Be Lonely (Minneapolis: Graywolf Press, 2004).
Date of Entry
04/20/2011
