walking away

• 'like a satellite wrenched from its orbit, go drifting away' - satellites are constant for long periods of time but then the violent verb of wrenched shows how the father feels its unnatural and he is reluctant but his son drifts which shows he is ready to embrace independance. semantic field of space links to exploration and development. 'away' highlights the introduction of distance in a relationship.
• 'the gait of one who finds no path where the path should be' - hes worried that it is the first time his son will do anything for himself. he will have to find his own way by making his own path which shows his life is no longer under the control of his father which causes him to feel lost and lacking the purpose he had had previously.
• 'like a winged seed loosened from its parent stem' - nature imagery, the support is no longer provided. stem has connotations of stability and strength which he will begin to lack. the word 'loosened' conveys that he will still need support from his father during the process of his growing independance.
• 'gnaws at my mind still' - shows how it still affects him almost 18 years on. shows the relentless agony caused by separation. gnaws has animalistic connotations which show the uncontrollable nature of his sadness.