i only find simile not metaphor in here. simile be in 4th stanza but i not understand it. i also not get how it aids to create feeling, or tone.

Question

i guess he only be describing his land. do that be theme?

i not understand most lines in poem

The Lonely Land by A.J.M. Smith

Cedar and jagged fir
uplift sharp barbs
against the gray
and cloud-piled sky;
and in the bay
blown spume and windrift by the wind

and thin, bitter spray
snap
at the whirling sky;
and the pine trees
lean one way.

A wild duck calls
to her mate,
and the ragged
and passionate tones
stagger and fall,
and recover,
and stagger and fall,
on these stones -
are lost
in the lapping of water
on smooth, flat stones.

This is a beauty
of dissonance,
this resonance
of stony strand
this smoky cry
curled over a black pine
like a broken
and wind-battered branch
when the wind
bends the tops of the pines
and curdles the sky
from the north

This is the beauty
of strength
broken by strength
and still strong.

Answer 1

Nearly the entire poem is description to support the poet's assertion in the last stanza.

This is what he's describing:
http://farm1.staticflickr.com/152/429832893_18f133527f.jpg

Can you see it?

Can you hear it?

Can you imagine what battering this tree has taken over its lifetime so far?

Answer 2

Note the individual words that have common associations:stagger, fall. note the repetition of vowel sounds within the lines to strengthen the mood.note how short the lines and words are, to mimic the nature of the scenery--harsh, barren, ie., tough.