The Koran (Symbol)
In the poem, the Koran is a well-used book in which someone hand-wrote a family genealogy, complete with information such as birth, weight, height, and death. The pages were "smoothed and stroked and turned / transparent with attention" (Lines 11-12). This has multiple symbolic registers. In general, the Koran is a symbol of the Muslim faith. This particular copy in the poem is also symbolic of some of the bonds that hold humans together: the kinship of family and the seeking of knowledge. A family tree is written on the pages of a book (which itself is made from trees).
The Creator (Allegory)
The architect that designs and makes structures in the poem represents the Creator of human life. The following lines illustrate the allegory,
"An architect could use all this,
place layer over layer, luminous
script over numbers over line...
...find a way to trace a grand design" (Lines 25-27 and 32).
In Abrahamic religions, God is the Creator of human life. The earlier mention of the Koran contributes to this allegory. However, the mention of a "grand design" does not necessarily reference just one religion; it simply acknowledges a higher force.
Capitals and Monoliths (Symbols)
In the poem, capitals and monoliths are "the shapes that pride can make" (Line 31). A capital is a city or town that serves as the administrative political center of a country, state, or province. Based on the metaphor of language as construction materials, it's important to note that the word "capital" also refers to the large letter size used for names and the beginning of sentences. A monolith is a single great stone often in the form of a monument or column. The word "monolith" is also used to refer to something large and powerful that functions as a unified whole.
Capitals and monuments in the poem are symbolic of human hubris; every empire thinks it will last forever. But the daylight breaks through these "shapes that pride can make," traces a grand design, and raises a structure of living tissue never meant to last.
