"I leave art galleries
in search of plantains"
This is one of the most revealing quotes about Grace Nichols herself in that it shows both where she has come from and where she has ended up, also clearly illustrating where it is that her heart lies.
She defines London as a place of culture, but also as a place where the outwardly visual is more important that heritage or emotions. She defines her homeland of Guyana as a place of feelings, of smells, of images that tug at her emotions and heartstrings. She has come to live in London and is successful there, but she has not left her roots behind, and even just the smell of plantains makes her feel safe and loved because it reminds her so strongly of her childhood and her mother's love.
"When I get to Heaven
gonna rap with Macavity,
gonna ind his hidden paw
and clear up that mystery."
This part of "Cat-Rap" alludes to "Macavity", one of the cats in "Old Possum's Book of Cats" by T.S. Eliot, and also to the musical "CATS" who developed the thinly-woven character from the original into one of the musical's main characters.
It is also amusing because the cat is telling the reader that Macavity is one of the great influential figures of the feline world. His musings are similar to a man who might say that when he gets to heaven he will talk baseball with Joe DiMaggio; Macavity is clearly a big influence on this seemingly harmless moggy who is emulating his vaguely criminal skill set. He is also a little arrogant, because although Macavity was nicknamed the Hidden Paw, this cat feels that he can find the paw and illuminate the Macavity legend.
"and when a howler monkey
wake her up with a howl
Forest just stretch and stir
to a new day of sound."
This is an interesting quote from the poem on two different levels. The first is on the level of a poem written about a forest, with its wide variety of wildlife. It is most likely based on one of the rainforest areas in Guyana where the poet grew up and is another reference to the country that she clearly deeply loves and longs for. It also gives the forest itself the same abilities as other mammals to wake, to sleep and to experience the day, emphasizing that it is of itself a living organism and not just a location where other living things are able to live.
It is also interesting from the perspective of the forest being a metaphor for a young woman who is a secret keeper. The "howler monkey" can be perceived to be a gossip monger, shouting from the rooftops, but the forest, the young girl who is the keeper of secrets, stays quiet, stretching and staying still whilst another day of noise and gossip goes on around her.
