"I Know the Grandmother One Had Hands"
A grandmother is an important figure in the life of a youth, as she provides a sense of wisdom and demand for respect. However, money can change almost anything, and, in the case of the narrator of this poem, takes her grandmother away from her.
Being so busy all of the time, her grandmother is always using her hands to do something like cook, knit, or fix things, rather than using them to hug her granddaughter. Simply wishing for some more time to spend with her loved ones, the narrator continues to list all of the laborious things her grandmother does instead of spending time with her.
"Who Will Be the Messenger of This Land"
The first half of the poem asks readers who will be the messengers of "this land", which can be assumed is a newly acquired expanse of great land. Namedropping all of the things that will be in the land, like water, paper, linen, and burlap, it is important for someone to volunteer as messenger for the needs of the land itself.
The poem continues to describe the land in explaining that the narrator(s) are the messengers of the land, willing to bring to it the culture from where they came. New plants like basil, nutmeg, and ginger, will be brought to spice things up, and the land will be lively once again. Only through humans, the poem seems to explain, can the land itself easily express itself through vibrant colors, tastes, smells, and sounds.
