“The Metaphors of Africa” “Wishing Africa” is a poem in which many thought provoking metaphors are used to make it come alive by giving the reader great illustrations. First of all what is ametaphor? A metaphor is a figure of speech that make comparison between two unlikethings, without using the words like or as. Marilyn Brooks utilizes metaphor to shapeone of the most interesting and dramatic poems. The essence of this poem lies within themetaphors.There are metaphors all through out “Wishing Africa," but the first one is not ametaphor but a simile becuase of the use of the word as. “The wind delicate asQueen Anne's lace” (4) is the first simile in the poem. This line is significant because ithelps to let the reader feel the poem, to feel Africa. It shows the gentle ways of theenvironment, or the peacefulness of Africa. This helps to show why the poetic voicewould want to go back. The next metaphor in the stanza is , “The women's bodies werevariable as coral” (9). This is one of the most imaginative lines in the poem. It gives thefeeling of beauty, as if swimming underwater in the Great Barrier Reef, looking at all thebeautiful creatures. This is significant because the poetic voice is trying to show howgreat and wonderful Africa was. It also serves as an illustration of the differencesbetween not just the women, but also ways of thinking. The woman may representdifferent experiences the poetic voice has had since leaving Africa which has changed itsmind about the country and wishes it could go back there only one more time. Or theycould represent the different parts of Africa that the poetic voice misses so much. The next stanza is a transition from the first. “I am threaded / with pale veins”(13-14) is the first metaphor in the stanza. This is used to show why the poetic voicecannot not return to the country it longs for. The words “threaded̶...
