Nocturne
In the poem entitled "Nocturne’’, the narrator remarks how despite the hot summer weathers, the nights are extremely chilly, to the point where the outside world freezes. The night described here is a symbol, used by the narrator to suggest the way in which the black men and women were treated. Daytime on the other hand is used as a symbol which stands for the way in which white people are free to live their lives as they want, without being afraid.
Lullabies
In the poem "To Usward’’ the narrator claims that no matter how hard the white society will try to steal away from the black people their lullabies, they will never be successful in doing so. The lullabies mentioned here are used as a symbol to suggest the heritage of the black people which was bestowed upon them since birth. And just like a child will continue to remember the lullabies he or she heard as a child, the black people will never be able to forget their heritage and their origins.
Grass
In the poem "Epitaph’’, the narrator mentions how she wishes that a message to be written on her stone after she died. She also wishes that grass would grow above on her grave so that everyone would see it on her grave. The grass is used here as symbol, used to suggest the things which a person leaves behind after their death.
Pine trees
One of the common motifs present in many of the poems is the presence of pine trees. The narrator mentions pine trees every time the narrator wants to transmit the idea of longevity and to suggest the passing of a long period of time. This motif can be observed in the poems "Hatred’’, "Epitaph’’ and "Heritage’’.
Songs
Another common motif present in the poems is the presence of songs. The narrator mentions songs time and time again and links them with the idea of remembering ones heritage. This motif appears in the poems "Song’’ and "To a Dark Girl’’.
