Self-Censorship
A somewhat amusing example of simile shows the power of self-censorship. What is left out there is far more creative than it would be if what we all know is the rhyme had been included:
“I’m glad he’s not waiting
For me to smile and wish him luck.
Like I give a flying—”
Emotion
An example of straight-up metaphor conveys a mixture of emotions. The young modern day narrator is overcome with a variety of different emotional reactions watching a moving van take his father’s things away to the new home that the narrator won’t be sharing:
“My anger a stammer.”
Weather
Weather is often a stimulus for metaphorical language. One such example is the depiction of the extremity of the cold in the opening line of the poem titled “Stroll.”
“The cold of the desert night
bites nose and face.”
Suppression
The emotions also run high in the retelling of the story of Abraham and Isaac through the eyes of Ishmael. Ishmael here is deep in worry over his future with the coming of brother through the relationship of Abraham and his new wife:
“Will my inheritance be lost?
But I stamp my feet,
And leave my worry
In the dust.”
David
The modern day story told by Sam also revolves around the arrival of a new brother borne from a woman not his mother. It is complicated relationship involving one husband, two wives, and two half-brothers. This metaphorical rhapsody reveals Sam’s true feelings toward the child his mother refers to only as “That woman’s child.”
“Suddenly, she burst out laughing,
finally seeing the David I know:
a bundle of cuteness,
sweet as chocolate,
innocent as morning.”
