Mother, any distance greater than a single span Literary Elements

The first-person speaker is a son, addressing his mother.

Free verse

Metaphors
-"the acres of the walls, the prairies of the floors" (Line 4): The spans of the walls and floors are compared to acres and grasslands.
-"Anchor. Kite" (Line 8): The speaker's relationship with his mother is compared to an anchor and to a kite. An anchor is a safety device that keeps floating vessels in place, while a kite is a toy flown in the air for entertainment. Both an anchor and a kite connect two separate parts via string, chain, or rope.
-"to fall or fly" (Line 15): Falling and flying are respective metaphors for failure and success.

Alliteration
-"single span" (Line 1): The /s/ repeats.
-"fall or fly" (Line 15): The /f/ repeats.

Assonance
-"recording / length, reporting metres" (Lines 5-6): The vowels of "recording" and "reporting" repeat.
-"the line still feeding out, unreeling" (Line 7): The long "e" sound repeats in "feeding" and "unreeling."

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Coming of Age Poetry, Lyric Poetry

The setting is an unfurnished house that represents the speaker's childhood.

Independent, Ambitious, Optimistic

The protagonist is the speaker. The antagonist is his mother.

The major conflict in this poem is the speaker's desire to forge his independence and not be tethered to his mother.

The climax occurs when the speaker encounters the "endless sky" that offers the opportunities for the speaker to fail or succeed of his own accord.

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Synecdoche
-"Mother, any distance greater than a single span / requires a second pair of hands" (Lines 1-2): "Hands" are a synecdoche for the entire person.

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