Empty Nest

Question

A. Gautam

Just yesterday I watched you in the car seat
Daddy drove five miles per hour for half hour
And my heart jumped at every mild bump on the road
You were home, but you had already been in our hearts
5 Just yesterday you took your wobbly steps
One hand holding mine and another holding daddy’s
In the neighborhood park we watched you run
As the sun set and the moon came
You our star, with sweaty palms and muddy knees
10 Buried us in your embrace
Just yesterday you fell from your bike but rose again
And took off in the cul-de-sac
Every risky turn made my stomach churn
Now you come up to my chin and daddy’s shoulder
15 Our grays as you gain strength but we are weaker, older
I want to sit with you in the back seat
And daddy to drive five miles per hour to your college
Hold you forever before you leave
Tomato Chutney
A. Gautam

Mother goes on an exploration
of our backyard garden
under the perennial sun
to seek the most tender
5 spheres of cherry tomatoes
arrows of green peppers
tear drops of garlic cloves
and umbrella of cilantro

She tends the soil
10 and brushes her fingers through the earth
her bamboo basket gathers
her love and labor

She sings an old ghazal1
that once was my lullaby
15 as her pickings go to sleep

She washes them
under the rain of the sink
before the heat of the frying pan
softens their flesh

20 She sings and sings to drown
the drone of the blender
red speckled with green

In her Texas kitchen
Mother pours tamatar2 chutney
25 from India

1 a rhyming poem, also a song popular in many South Asian countries
2 tomato\How is the structure of passage 2 different from the structure of passage 1?
Responses
A Passage 2 uses the speaker to describe the mother’s actions while passage 1 uses the speaker to describe the mother’s qualities.Passage 2 uses the speaker to describe the mother’s actions while passage 1 uses the speaker to describe the mother’s qualities.
B Passage 2 uses form to express feelings about the mother while passage 1 uses free verse to share observations about the child.Passage 2 uses form to express feelings about the mother while passage 1 uses free verse to share observations about the child.
C Passage 2 doesn’t use figurative language to describe the mother while passage 1 uses metaphors in each stanza to describe the mother. Passage 2 doesn’t use figurative language to describe the mother while passage 1 uses metaphors in each stanza to describe the mother.
D Passage 2 uses the speaker to express a tightly knit bond of the mother and child while passage 1 uses the speaker to show only the child’s love.Passage 2 uses the speaker to express a tightly knit bond of the mother and child while passage 1 uses the speaker to show only the child’s love.
Skip to navigation

Answer 1

To analyze how the structure of passage 2 ("Tomato Chutney") is different from the structure of passage 1 ("Empty Nest"), we can examine the specific qualities and aims of each poem.

Passage 1 primarily focuses on the speaker's observations and feelings towards their child as they grow up, emphasizing nostalgia and the bittersweet nature of change. The structure is more observational, moving through the memories and experiences of the child as they develop. It captures a moment of reflection on parenthood and the passage of time.

In contrast, passage 2 centers around the mother’s actions in the garden and the kitchen, highlighting her labor and connection to her cultural heritage through cooking. The structure here is more action-oriented, detailing the mother’s process of gathering ingredients and preparing a cherished dish, which creates a vivid imagery of nurturing and care.

Given this analysis, the answer that best captures the main structural differences between the two passages is:

A: "Passage 2 uses the speaker to describe the mother’s actions while passage 1 uses the speaker to describe the mother’s qualities."

This choice reflects the active description in "Tomato Chutney" versus the more reflective quality of "Empty Nest."