Light (Symbol)
In the poem, light is symbolic of resilience, tenacity, and faith. The eggs with their "Fragile curves of white" that someone left in a wire basket hang out over the "dark edge / Of a slanted universe" (Lines 16-18). This dark edge is capable of breaking the eggs if they were to fall. The eggs actively "[gather] the light / Into themselves," which begins to clarify that this is a metaphor for people who live in difficult circumstances. The poet uses a simile to compare the eggs to "The bright, thin walls of faith" (Line 22). Thus, light is encased in and perhaps created by the practice of faith. This is not necessarily meant in just a religious sense despite the comparison between the eggs and a house of faith (such as a mosque). The symbol of light in the poem resonates more with the concept of faith in the human condition. More specifically, light represents the act of continuing to create a life despite the difficulties of poverty.
These Eggs (Symbol)
On their own, eggs represent the continuation of life both through the possibility of hatching and the nutrition they provide when consumed. In the poem, the eggs are specified as "These eggs," showing that they are the central focus of the speaker's observation (Line 15). These eggs are a symbol for survival and hope. In the absence of the building's inhabitants in the poem, their living space and belongings shape the reader's idea about them. There is energy and desire coiled into the eggs.
It is not specified whether the eggs are a precious commodity. But their appearance in an impoverished household may subvert readers' expectations about what people living in these conditions eat.
Lines (Motif)
The speaker exhibits an eye for design throughout the poem. In the first lines, the speaker complains that "There are just not enough / Straight lines," designating this as a problem (Lines 1-2). Further, "Nothing is flat / Or parallel" in the building being described, which "leans dangerously / Towards the miraculous" (Lines 4-5 and 9-10). Lines represent structure, order, and safety, which the building in the poem lacks. However, within these haphazard lines of the building's "rough frame, / Someone has squeezed / A living space" (Lines 11-13). Despite the complaint in the first few lines, it becomes clear that the main focus of the poem is the life created within this structure.
Structures (Motif)
There is a pattern in the poem of structures first being described in a literal and then a metaphorical sense. The speaker describes the building in the poem first in terms of its haphazard construction, and then as a structure that "leans dangerously / Towards the miraculous" (Lines 9-10). The poet first defines the structure by its lack of straight lines and the materials that compose it (beams, supports, nails). But what the poem hones in on is the life created within this difficult situation as a result of human resiliency. Eggs are another example of a structure in the poem (fragile curves of white compared to bright, thin walls of faith) in which human tenacity and faith shine through.
The poem suggests that humanity relies on structure, but even in situations where the environment is not ideal, people will do the best they can to continue living.
