Martin Espada’s Of the Threads that Connect the Stars

Of the Threads that Connect the Stars

Martin Espada’s “Of the Threads that Connect the Stars” tells of how three generations of his family all found what gives meaning to their lives.  The poem utilizes imagery to display each of the influential interactions and activities in each of the three men’s lives.

In the first stanza, the poetic speaker tells of his father who once asked his son if he had ever seen that stars, but “he was not speaking of the heavens, but the white flash in his head when a fist burst between his eyes”; the father of the poetic speaker is most likely a boxer or fighter, seeing the types of stars that would be comical in a cartoon fight scene. Although unusual for a father to make light of violence with his son, the poetic speaker claims that “in Brooklyn, this would cause men and boys to slap [tables] with glee”. Seeing stars from a fight is what brought the community in which the speaker’s father was a part of feel connected.

It is critical to note that as part of New York history, many hsitorical minority and immigrant groups were swindled into the world of boxing as a means for their financial security, as well as for their families. As the second mass immigration wave emerged – circa the 1880s- when the Irish, Italians, Russians, Greeks, Poles, were faced with prejudice and oftentimes, a great deal of discrimination. These demographics were coerced to find any work to support themselves and their families. Just as this applies to these traditional European immigrants, a more recent wave of immigrants from countries; such as Puerto Rico, the Dominician Republic, Haiti, and other Spanish speaking island countries, has faced an incredibly devastating amount of prejudice. Without the proper oppurtunities to advance themselves in their society, immigrants were coerced to take dangerous positions to maintain a base standard of living.

However, the speaker claims that they “never saw the stars”, perhaps because “the sky in Brooklyn was a tide of smoke”. The speaker never saw the same stars that brought pleasure to their father, before them. Instead, the poetic speaker tells of the “riots of 1966 that kept [him] locked in [his room] like a suspect”. The riots that the poetic speaker is referring to are the 1966 Riots in which an eleven-year old boy was shot and killed. This occurred subsequent to a group of African Americans stoned a mass of white supremacists, with signs in tow that supported the U.S.’ notorious Jim Crow laws.There was no joy available for the speaker to deliver as maintaining his safety was of more importance to his family and instead saw only “mattresses burning in the junkyard”. The burning mattresses are symbolic of the rest and comfort that has been destroyed in Brooklyn and as a result, the speaker does not have a safe home, and more specifically a place to rest, to experience the same joy that his father found in seeing stars.

Fortunately, the poetic speaker’s son is able to see the stars “through the tall barrel of a telescope”; the speaker’s son sees literal stars, the type that bring joy to astronomers and avid students of science and evidently, the speaker’s son is fascinated with astronomy as “he names the galaxies with the numbers and letters of astronomy” however the speaker “cannot see what he sees in the telescope”. The speaker does not share the same interest in otherworldly subjects but rather those that are here, on earth, such as riots, social issues, and political injustices. It may also be interpretted that the speaker did not have the oppurtunity to develop such acadmeic interests – as his time was consumed with his more physical pursuits that likely were a means of livelihood for himself, and his family.

  In the fourth stanza, the speaker tells of how his father and son see stars. Similar to his grandfather, the speaker’s son sees stars but the speaker does not, making the speaker the thread that connects the stars; these stars being, his grandfather and son. Although the speaker does not see stars, he appreciates the growth and progress of the opportunity that his family has experienced, from fighting for means of survival to studying astronomy, and conclusively stating:  “we have walked this far”. 

The three generations in the poetic speaker’s family have all enocuntered different life experiences. However, these experiences have an inlfuential effect on the bonds of these family members. The poetic speaker may not have been able to “see the stars” of his father, nor the literal stars that fascinate his son but the metaphorical constellation between the generations strengthens and brings the poetic speaker joy to see that his family finds solace in the fact that their experiences, although diverse, the underlying concepts surrounding each of the men brings them closer. There is something about know that one is not alone that creates strong bonds between loved ones and even strangers, too. The world is large, bleak, and intimidating when one feels that their experiences are uncommon and isolating. However, finding commonalities in experiences, thoughts, and feelings, will always bring people together. This is espeically beneficial for family members of distinct generations, where cultural and societal events may create generational divides. And as the old saying goes, misery loves company; but to end on a more positive note, shared suffering brings people together, and gives them to oppurtunity to grow alongside one another.