Explore how the poet's words create a vivid picture of the world at night in Amends by Adrienne Rich.

In “Amends,” Adrienne Rich lists everything the moonlight touches as night arrives. The poem’s first image is the flowering branch of an apple tree. Rich describes “white star[s]…exploding out of the bark.” These stars could be either stars themselves, peeking out between the leaves, or the white flowers of the apple tree, appearing suddenly brighter in the light of the moon. At the end of the stanza, Rich references the moonlight for the first time, describing the way it lights up all the small stones on the ground.

For additional information, check out GradeSaver's summary and analysis in the study guide for this poem.