Imagery And Symbolism In Hands, By Ted Kooser

In “Hands”, the author Ted Kooser is rationalizing the idea that since he has been in his fifties he sees his father in him. He uses imagery and symbolism so the reader will understand his father's impact upon his life.
He uses imagery to reflect that the son sees his father as he says, “I have begun to see my father's hands out at the end of my arms.” Imagery is used to express the five senses, and to show what has happened or what the character has experienced. “I hear him singing, softly singing, the words buzzing deep in his chest.” The son is hearing his father sing peacefully as he is dying, this may have been the last thing the son could hear.
Ted Kooser also uses symbolism throughout his story. “This wearing of my ring on his ring

finger is a part of my father's respectful accommodation of me and my life and marriage.” By him saying this he is symbolizing that the son knows the father has respect for him, his life, and his marriage; that the son wants to have a life and marriage as his father has done. “Palms turned up s if to catch his fleeting moment as it falls away.” In Christianity, when asking forgiveness you turn your palms toward the Lord, in the upright position, as told here. By saying this Kooser is symbolizing that as the son is dying he is asking the Lord forgiveness before he passes away.
In this story, Kooser is clarifying how the son sees his father more and more in him, how the father is the last thing the son hears before he dies, and how he had ask the Lord forgiveness before his passing, this idea is told to us by imagery and symbolism throughout the story.