The language of war
In the beginning of the poem "Who will be the Messenger of this Land’’, the narrator claims that the massager must have the power to speak the "language of water’’. The term water transmits here the idea of something natural. Thus, "the language of water’’ is used here as a symbol for deep respect and love for nature.
Razors
The most important symbol in the poem "Wishing’’ is the razor blade mentioned in the first line of the poem. The razor blade is described as being powerless when trying to cut the "rainbow’’. Both the rainbow and the razor blades are used here as symbols. The rainbow is used as a symbol for happiness and the razor blade is used as a symbol for an event which may affect this happiness and make it disappear.
Symbol for innocence
In the poem "Paper Dolls’’, the narrator describes young children as wearing multicolored clothes and girls as wearing skirts which resemble those wore by dolls. The skirts mentioned here become a symbol for the innocence children have and it is also used to transmit the idea of purity.
The hands
One of the motifs which is present in the poem "I know the Grandmother one had Hands’’ is the idea that the narrator never saw the grandmother’s hands because they were always hide from plain view. This motif is repeated every second line in the poem and it has the purpose of showing just how busy the grandmother was.
Dresses
Towards the end of the poem "eva/jaki/ivory/imani/eva’’, the narrator describes the dresses worn by these women and describes them in great detail. The dresses are embellished and have a lot of intricate designs, standing out from the dresses worn by working class women. The dresses thus become used here as a symbol for social status, the beauty and the delicate nature of the dresses making the women in question stand out from the crowd.
