Police Officers
In Brown's poetry, police officers are often depicted as threatening and dangerous figures, especially for black men in America. In "Bullet Points," Brown illustrates this idea, writing: "I promise if you hear of me dead anywhere near a cop, then that cop killed me."
Flowers
In "The Virus," the speaker of the poem is a virus itself, who is hateful and threatening towards its host. In particular, the virus is hoping to spoil the subject's beautiful flowers they have grown, which symbolizes the fact a life-threatening illness can often destroy the things people love, and alter their view of life.
The Virus
Viruses are a key motif in this collection, and Brown uses this idea in different ways. Firstly, the speakers of his poems often talk about the experience of having HIV, and how it affects people's lives. In another sense, Brown also talks about the pandemic of racism in America, illustrating this through the imagery of a virus. For example, in "The Virus," the speaker compares these two ideas:
"I want you
to heed that I'm still here
Just beneath your skin and in
Each organ
The way anger dwells in a man
Who studies the history of his nation."
Crying Mothers
Crying mothers are a key motif in this collection. Brown often writes about police brutality and violence against black people, and also writes about the repercussions of this, including the effect it has on the victim's families. For example, in "Bullet Points," Brown writes that "A city can pay a mother to stop crying," and in "Duplex" he refers to "the sound of a mother weeping again."
Emmett Till
In his poem "Riddle," Brown alludes to Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American boy who was lynched in 1955 by a racist mob. In "Riddle," Brown refers to the "body of Emmett Till," which has become a symbol for racial violence against black men in America, due to the horrific nature of the crime.
