Africa. The author used these terms because they provokethought and feeling with in poem by giving the reader the sense that the earth is alive. “Idid it all with little bloody stitches,” (26) is the next metaphor. This metaphor issignificant because it again shows the poetic voice's sadness and regret. These “bloodystitches," (25) maybe the slaves the poetic voice used to do his work in Africa. Theactual terms “bloody stitches” brings a whole other feeling to the poem. This feelings greatly contrast from those of the first stanza. Bowering uses these wordsbecause they suggest pain and suffering. The pain and suffering that the poetic voiceexperiences everyday of his life due to the facts of what he did while in Africa.Bowering uses the next line again to so how the poetic voice is unhappy withwhat he did in Africa. “I am scented with virus,” (31) is the next metaphor. The keyterms in the line are “scented” (35) and “virus” (35). The word “scented” is used to showthat the poetic voice is tainted with what he did in Africa and cannot get away from it,as if “scented” by a skunk. The word “virus” is used becuase whenever a virus is thoughtof death closely related to it. The poetic voice used Africans and killed Africans to do hiswhite man’s work. Again, the next line are not actually a metaphor because of the wordas, (it is a simile), but it is vital to the poem. “I am white as a geisha/ my rootsindiscriminate” (35-36), this line again goes back to the color of the poetic voices skin. The image of a “geisha” (35) is used because it is a plant with white flowers. Boweringcontinually brings up the image of white (referring to skin color) because it is key tounderstand the poem to know that the poetic voice is a white person. The other keyconcepts here are “my roots indiscriminate&...
