21 pages • 42 minutes read
Naomi Shihab NyeA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
The image of a bird and its wings appear twice each in the poem. At first the father, as a boy, gets hit in the head when his friend throws a rock at a bird. The father, rather than reacting, grows “wings” (Line 15). Later a boy draws a picture of a bird that is covering two houses with its enormous wings. The bird has multiple connotations. It is a creature that is vulnerable, attracting the attention of people who throw stones at it for sport or food. However, it is also a symbol of resilience. It has wings which allow it to fly away from the violence of those who dwell on the land. It can transcend the heaviness of things like stones, war, and the gravity of life on Earth.
Traditionally, the dove is a symbol of peace. Though she does not name the bird as a dove, the bird and its wings do suggest peace, especially in the boy’s painting, in which the bird’s wings are covering two houses. A bird usually covers its young with its wings, especially at night and in a storm, to keep them safe. This image of a bird covering houses with its wings suggests a supernatural capacity to care for others, including two families—i.
By Naomi Shihab Nye
300 Goats
300 Goats
Naomi Shihab Nye
Alphabet
Alphabet
Naomi Shihab Nye
Blood
Blood
Naomi Shihab Nye
Burning the Old Year
Burning the Old Year
Naomi Shihab Nye
Different Ways to Pray
Different Ways to Pray
Naomi Shihab Nye
Famous
Famous
Naomi Shihab Nye
Gate A-4
Gate A-4
Naomi Shihab Nye
Kindness
Kindness
Naomi Shihab Nye
Making a Fist
Making a Fist
Naomi Shihab Nye
Morning Song
Morning Song
Naomi Shihab Nye
My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop
My Uncle’s Favorite Coffee Shop
Naomi Shihab Nye
Shoulders
Shoulders
Naomi Shihab Nye
The Art of Disappearing
The Art of Disappearing
Naomi Shihab Nye
The Rider
The Rider
Naomi Shihab Nye
The Turtle of Oman
The Turtle of Oman
Naomi Shihab Nye
The Words Under the Words
The Words Under the Words
Naomi Shihab Nye
Valentine for Ernest Mann
Valentine for Ernest Mann
Naomi Shihab Nye