Speaker or Narrator, and Point of View
The speaker is Warsan Shire, author of this poem. She writes from a first-person perspective. She is strongly defined by her desire to imagine a better, more loving childhood for herself and her sister.
Form and Meter
The poem is written in free verse. It has no meter or rhyme. It consists of two stanzas, the second of which is the same as the first, but whose lines run in a reverse order.
Metaphors and Similes
The phrase "ants rushing into a hole" is a metaphorical description of blood running back up Shire's nose.
Alliteration and Assonance
N/A
Irony
N/A
Genre
Mirror poetry, domestic poetry, feminist poetry
Setting
The setting of the poem is Shire's childhood home
Tone
Vulnerable but empowered
Protagonist and Antagonist
The protagonist of the poem is Shire. The antagonist is her stepfather.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the poem is rooted in the trauma of Shire's childhood and her desire to correct it.
Climax
The climax of the poem occurs when Shire describes her mother being pushed down the stairs and losing a child.
Foreshadowing
The opening of the poem foreshadows that Shire's father leaving set off a chain reaction of unfortunate events.
Understatement
N/A
Allusions
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
N/A
Hyperbole
The line "I can write the poem and make it disappear" is a hyperbolic description of Shire's ability to correct the wrongs of the past.
Onomatopoeia
N/A
