The sea as a place of wonders
One of the major motifs found in the poem "There is a boat down the quay’’ is the idea that the seas are a magical place. The narrator describes the boats, the people and the waters as being the place where the heavens meet with the earth and where anything is possible. This idea is also transmitted through the many images described by the narrator in the poem.
Too late to change
Another common motif found in the poems is the idea that many people feel as if they no longer have time to do what they want and also how many feel as if they had run out of time. This is a common motif found in many poems such as "There is a boat down the quay’’ or in the poem "Mr. Ifonly’’.
Symbol for hardship
In the poem "Geography lesson’’ the narrator talks about his teacher who longed to see the lands he only had the chance to read about and see them from the various maps he studied. The reason why he wanted to leave is because he wanted to escape from the "cold’’ found in his own country. The cold is used here as a symbol for the hardships the professor wanted to escape from.
Different paths in life
In the poem "Party Piece’’ the narrator mentions how he and an unknown lady had sexual intercourse. At the end, they went their separate ways, the lady going with a bus and he with a train. The two different modes of transportation are used in this context as a symbol, to make reference to the different paths in life the two took.
People failing
One of the common motifs in the author’s poems is the depiction of men who had failed in life. In every one of his poems, the narrator presents men who had big dreams about their future and yet who could never reach their dreams. The reason why this happened is because, more that often, they overestimated their own capabilities and powers and failed to prepared.
