Shoes and socks
In the poem "As Dead Prey Upon Us’’ the narrator mentions how a deer is walked around a room by the narrator and an Indian woman. The deer is looking for shoes and maybe socks and the other two characters are helping the deer look for them. The deer is used here as a symbol for the black population and thus the shoes and socks are used here as a symbol as well, standing for the elemental rights the black population was beginning to get granted.
The rain
The symbol of rain appears in the third part of the poem "Variations Done for Gerald Van De Wiele’’. The rain is the force that makes the flowers from the trees to fall to the ground and thus decay. The flowers are used here as a symbol for the rejuvenating characteristic of spring and the general lively atmosphere dominating the season. The rain is the destructive force affecting the flowers. The flowers can also be seen as a symbol for the dreams and hopes a person has and thus the rain becomes here a symbol used to refer to the hardships a person has the endure during his or her life, hardships that can kill their dream and aspirations.
Pain
In the poem "The Librarian’’, the narrator describes the house where he once lived with his parents and also the house where he first discovered that his former wife was cheating on him. The house is also the place where the narrator experienced pain and thus it is used here as a symbol for pain.
The kingfisher's nest
In the poem "The Kingfishers’’, the narrator describes majestic birds, appreciated and loved by many. At the end of the second part of the poem, the narrator describes their nest and how after the birds leave, it is transformed and decays rapidly. The nest is built out of dead fish, excrements, and other elements brought by the birds. The nest thus is the ugly, hidden part of the bird, something the watchers choose to ignore as to not hinder the beauty of the birds. In a broader sense, the nest thus is a symbol for the unattractive parts of our souls, the ones we keep hidden from the others.
Death
In the poem "The Kingfishers’’, the narrator mentions a river after talking about religious leaders. The narrator mentions the river and how a person can never step back on the other side once they passed it. The river is used here as a symbol for death since the act of passing it is irreversible. This symbol may have been taken from other mythologies since the crossing of a river is often presented as being the journey a person takes when passing in the afterlife.
