Imagery is the employment of figurative or descriptive language to invoke a sensory experience within the reader. While visual imagery is a primary and powerful feature of all forms of literature, “imagery” is not limited to the sense of sight. It can also be auditory, tactile, olfactory, or even gustatory (related to taste). In “Praise Song for my Mother,” Nichols employs poetic imagery through powerful metaphors that stimulate all five senses.
Several of the metaphors involve more than one sense. “Water” can be visual, auditory, and even tactile—its invocation can produce in a reader, for example, the image of an ocean, the sound of rushing water, or the feeling of a cold plunge. “Sunrise” as well summons a visual and tactile feeling, especially when supplemented with the adjective “warm” to compound the bodily sensation of the warmth of the sun.
In the fourth stanza, Nichols compounds a series of vivid examples of imagery in rapid succession. The first three involve shades of the color red, such as “flame tree’s spread.” This conjures a mental image of the leaves of a bright red tree, but also suggests fire, from the name of the tree. “Fish’s red gills” suggests motion—the breathing and swimming of a fish, with gills flapping open and closed. In the last line, the senses of taste and smell are evoked. “Crab’s leg,” a bright red food, has a distinctive salty, buttery taste. The smell of “fried plantains” is specifically named. These are powerful examples of imagery for those familiar with the smells and tastes of both foods; the sense of smell has been scientifically proven to be closely related to one’s memories, so ending the poem with an olfactory image is especially poignant.
