Bad-shot farmers
In the poem Scout, the poet mentions the bad-shot farmers that kept her alive during her journey to Austin by feeding her. The bad-shot farmers is used here as a symbol that stands for poets and other writers that may not be extremely talented but still writers that manage to sustain themselves through their art.
Hounds that lost interest
The author mentions how during her journeys she meets with violent hounds that surrounded her. The author mentions how she is happy that the hounds lost their interest in her and thus she could continue her journey. The hounds are used here as a symbol to make reference to the critics that may have had gathered around the poet to criticize her and tear apart her work.
Pecans that kept her alive
During her journey to Austin, the author mentions how she survived by eating pecans given to her by bad-shot farmers. The pecans in this context could be used as a symbol to make reference to the praise she received during the time she was trying to grow as a writer.
Weeds
In another poem, the author writes how she got out of the forest and tried to chase after the weeds in front of her. The weeds in this context could be a symbol for that stands for her dreams and for literary ideals.
Traveling
A common motif in the poems is the idea of traveling and the poet talks about how she frequently travels from one place to another. She presents in her poems the hardships she endures during her travels and also how she overcame them and how they changed her. Because of this, the idea of traveling is a common motif in the poems.
