Symbol for the truth
In the poem entitled "City Limits," the main symbol is the light that manages to get everywhere. The light is used here for the cosmic and natural force that reveals the truth, no matter how hard a person tries to hide it from view.
Symbol for difficulties
The narrator opens the poem entitled "Muse’’ by noting how he came from the darkness and how darkness helped him develop into what he is today. The darkness is used here as a symbol for the difficulties the author had to endure but instead of affecting him negatively, the problems only made him stronger and more determined to succeed in life.
Symbol for vulnerability
In the poem entitled "Easter Morning’’, the narrator imagines himself having two lives, one being extremely fragile in comparison with other lives. He also compares that life with a pregnancy he must protect or with a small child he must take care of. The pregnancy is used here as a symbol for vulnerability as it suggests that the narrator must protect that life with all he has.
Symbol for the creative result
In the poem entitled "Poetics’’ the narrator mentions a central point from which everything originates from. From that point, spirals eventually form until a beautiful tree that stands out on its own and is visible for everyone to see. The tree is the result of the creative process and thus the tree is used here as a symbol for the creative process.
Coming from the darkness
One of the common motifs found in the poems is the idea that good things come from the darkness. The narrator mentions this idea is many poems such as "Poetics’’, "Muse’’ and "City Limits’’. In all of the poems, darkness is perceived as being the raw material from which literature will eventually emerge from.
