WORDS FOR EMPTY AND WORDS FOR FULL 
 Written by Bob Hicok 
 Book Reaction Paper 
 By Mark Miller 
 I think I finally understand the book after reading more and more of it. It just 
 came to me that poems have several distinctive parts to them the whole poem and the 
 individual parts that make up the whole. There is also another part to it and this is the 
 ethereal part that stays with you after reading it. This is the part that I finally got. In the 
 beginning I was struck by the speed at which it flows with so many change in directions. 
 But then I slowed down and took some time to think. That is why poems are so 
 important to our life in all cultures. It forces us to slow down, be still, and smell the 
 roses. Poems are about mindfulness. I realized that I related to this person and to 
 everything he was saying in time and space. He's from my generation and from my state 
 of Michigan. 
 The poem which gave me the clue I needed to put everything together was getting 
 in line. It's about a rock that's alive who visits dads' house many years after being 
 abandoned by him. The dad says to rock-baby it wasn't his fault but the poets fault who 
 then blames it on God and God has no one to blame because he is God. And this was it. 
 The main themes' of his poems are Existentialism, the Heisenberg uncertainty principle, 
 and our borderline society. I will elaborate in a minute, but this has really helped me in 
 writing a poem by understanding all the elements which go into it much like a Math 
 problem. By taking time and drawing the themes it makes you not only a better reader 
 of poems but a better writer as well. 
 The existentialism, which is seen in in most if not all of his poems, focuses on 
 the condition of human existence, and in emotions, actions, responsibilities, and 
 thoughts. The focus is more on the subjective experience than the objective. This 
 brings me to the Heisenberg uncertainty principle (quantum physics), a direct 
 correlation with existentialism, the basics is that an observer can never measure both 
 position and movement of a particle. If you know the movement or speed then 
 you can not know the position and if you know the position you can not know 
 the movement thus you still do not know where it is. Spooky science as one Scientist 
 called it. This theory also supports the multi-universe theory. The cat in the box is both 
 dead and alive at the same time. Only when an observer observes the cat does it 
 change. The subjective experience alters the objective. The title of the book Words for 
 empty Words for full imply s both until the reader reads it and decides. In my opinion I 
 think the author knows and understands these principles well. In many of his poems he 
 has inanimate objects alive, animate dead or dying, and some in between the two. 
 All this takes place in an American Empire of illusion. While Americans were 
 busy being entertained and pleasured, corporations and the industrial-military complex 
 have brought American democracy to its death bed. Yes, past tense, as in were almost 
 done and we don't even know it yet. And without a doubt Huxley's version of dystopia 
 in Brave New World is here. 
 In conclusion, the book has taught me more than I originally thought. It provided 
 me with a better understanding and meaning of poems. I am a voracious reader of 
 literature, horror, Science, Astronomy, history, and many other topics but not many 
 poems, other than The Divine Comedy and Shakespeare. Poems require you to slow 
 down, read it, and take a time out. In my opinion I'm becoming a better writer 
 because I am learning how to read them first.