Of the Threads that Connect the Stars

“Letter to My Father” by Martín Espada (2018)

This poem shares important themes with “Of the Threads.” In it, Espada mourns his father and considers his legacy—especially in terms of his ties to Puerto Rico. He remembers a childhood trip to Utuado where his father told him about his roots in the island and then draws attention to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria. He promises to return his father’s ashes to its mountains.

“Digging” by Seamus Heaney (1966)

The speaker in this poem contemplates his work and his lineage. He watches his father digging potatoes and thinks about his grandfather digging peat. He admires their strength and revels in his roots. The speaker, like the son in Espada’s poem, benefits from change and time. He is, in part, the product of his ancestor’s labor. He is a poet and will dig with a writer’s tool: a pen.

“Men” by Pablo Neruda, translated by Alfred Yankauer (2000)

Martín Espada has been compared to Pablo Neruda because they are “both accessible and versatile, writing poetry in which, as he so memorably puts it, ‘I pay homage, bear witness, act as an advocate, and tell secrets’” (Voigt, Benjamin.