Political oppression
The first poem in the collection is entitled "Brief Lives’’ and focuses on the way an oppressive government can put an end to a person’s life if that person does not agree with that government's point of view. The poem mentioned here analyzes two aspects: how the government can stop a person from expressing their opinion when this opinion is not in line with what the rest of the government thinks and how the corrupt people can make a fortune if they do what they are told. The narrator analyzes the example of two people in the poem to exemplify these ideas, namely a poor man who had opposing political ideas and a corrupt drug lord who after his death received the honor of a full military funeral. None of the characters have the power to speak their mind and this is another idea promoted in the poem. Thus, because of this aspects, political oppression is one of the main themes in the poem "Brief Lives’’.
Powerful women
One of the common themes in the play has to do with the power women have. We find this theme as a major one in two poems, in "Tropic Love’’ and "Amazon Women’’. In the first poem, the narrator talks about the roles assumed by the women who remained on their own when their husbands and partners had to leave for war. Some of the men died as a result and the burden of taking care of a family and of a household felt upon the women who still remained in their villages. These women, along with the normal wives who took care of their children and household at the same time are described as being "Amazons’’, extraordinary women who do not need to be helped by the men in their lives. In the second poem, "Tropic Love’’, the narrator is a woman who tries to get out of a relationship where she was not appreciated and where she had to do everything by herself. The narrator of the poem was already performing a number of tasks, such as taking care financial of her children, which should have been the responsibility of her husband. Thus, in this case as well, we have another strong woman who decides she would rather be alone than be married to someone who does not care for her and her children.
How men are really like
While women are presented as being strong and independent, not the same can be told about the men who are described in the poems. Thus, one of the major theme in the poems deals with presenting the true nature of men. First of all, men are presented as being unreliable. In the poem "Tropic Love’’ and "The Immovable Tennant’’, men are presented as leaving their families behind when things get though. Wives often find themselves alone and having to take care financially of their children, even though this is seen as a "man’s job’’ in traditional societies. Secondly, men are presented as ruthless and power hungry. This is obvious from the poem "Amazon Women’’ where a story about a husband killing his wife’s lover is presented in gruesome details. Also, in the poem "The Immovable Tennant’’, the antagonist is an arrogant and heartless man, someone who does not care who suffers as long as he has as much money as possible.
