Strained sails
In the poem "There is a boat down the quay’’ the narrator describes a boat he once saw enter the harbor of the city where he used to live as a boy. The narrator describes the boat and talks about how the sails of the bot were so stretched almost as if time was pressed against them. The comparison is important because it has the aim of making the reader understand the strains the boat had to endure and helps the reader imagine all the things the boat and the crew went through.
Metaphor for freedom
In the poem "There is a boat down the quay’’ the narrator focuses on a boat he frequently saw as a child. The narrator is amazed by this boat and also by the seas on which the boat navigates on. The narrator wishes he could have sailed as well and he sees the seas as a magical place, where only the worthy are received. The sea is presented here as a metaphor for freedom, something the narrator wished to have.
Metaphor for a different direction
In the poem "Geography lesson the narrator mentions how after his old geography teacher died new maps were drawn on the classroom walls. The maps are used here in a metaphorical sense and through them the narrator wanted to transmit the idea that the new professor had a different idea and perception on the world and thus he pushed his students to follow a new direction, a new map different form the one presented by the previous teacher.
Similar to riding a crocodile
In the poem "Party Piece’’ the conversation between a man and a woman is recorded. The man tries to convince the woman to have sex with him but she refuses initially. The man compares the act of having sex with riding a crocodile. The comparison has the purpose of showing the woman just how exciting and interesting the experience can be and how she can get a rush out of it.
Like the water a man finds in the desert
In the poem "The Minister for Exams’’ the narrator mentions the questions he was asked during his exams. One of the question was "What is love?’’ and the narrator compares love with the water a man finds in the desert. The comparison has the purpose of helping the reader understand how love is vital for anyone just like no one can live without water.
