Poetry

My Father and the Fig Tree

• Starts in the middle of a scene, kind of
• “Weaving folktales like vivid little scarves
• Out of place in the mood of the poem so far
• He tells stories just like his dad dod
• Very colloquial, not much imagery in poem itself but some in the dialogue
• Also there is dialogue
• Doesn’t feel like there is a deeper meaning or symbolism
• Not heavy or deep, just a sweet story

Blood

• Breaks story into short lines that keep the reader intrigued
• A decent amount about her father
• Connected to religion
• Doesn’t usually break lines with punctuation
• Sometimes the line breaks make it seem choppier
• “The headlines clot in my blood” Is an interesting comparison
• Figs again!
• Brings back recurring themes to keep the story relevant

The Words Under the Words

• Much more metaphor and similes
• Symbolism of the car
• Discussing a person
• Similar to a story, but the line breaks make it flow very well

Two Countries

• Can skin remember? Makes it deeper and have more meaning
• Treats individual part of a person as an entire person
• Is she trying to say that we are all just skin?
• Corridors of cinnamon and rope? Interesting imagery here
• I think she is calling humankind purely skin