Question

What are some of the poetic devices used in this poem by Gladys Cardiff?
-diction
-end-stopped
-lyric
-symbol
-syntax


Bending, I bow my head
And lay my hand upon
Her hair, combing, and think
How women do this for
Each other. My daughter's hair
Curls against the comb,
Wet and fragrant--orange
Parings. Her face downcast,
Is quiet for one so young.

I take her place. Beneath
My mother's hands I feel
The braids drawn up tight
As a piano wire and singing,
Vinegar-rinsed. Sitting
Before the oven I hear
The orange coils tick
The early hour before school.

She combed her grandmother Mathilda's hair using A comb made out of bone.
Mathilda rocked her oak-wood
Chair, her face downcast,
Intent on tearing rags
In strips to braid a cotton Rug from bits of orange
And brown. A simple act,

Preparing hair. Something
Women do for each other,
Plaiting the generations.

Answer 1

I see lots of imagery, metaphors, and similes in there.

Diction simply refers to word choice; if you think the word choice is unusual or particularly effective, then this one is there.

Look up other terms here:
http://www.answers.com or http://www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/

Let us know what you discover.

Answer 2

Gvhh