he is gone or rather there is an empty space where he had been

Epistemology:
let us distinguish the there from the not there
first, do not lament the not there
it is just a phenomenon, a new object
since they both exist: the there and the not there
it is simple to resolve
one or the other
by considering them
at once

take a practical example
you see your father lying in a hospital bed
and he is making a joke
and, let's say, you brought him his plaid flannel robe
that he had asked for and he is wearing it and it is tied around his waist in a knot
and he is making a joke but then he is not and so the joke is there and it is not there
but he is still in his plaid flannel robe and you try to capture the joke in your hand
because it was just there
then you say something to your father and so that thing you said is there
and so you think--does he hear the words
and you wonder
the words are all about wondering, but since he is not there, that is all that is left to
consider--I would say that although your father
exists--your words do not