How does the poet use figurative imagery in the collection, Delights and Shadows?

Koozser employs figurative images throughout Delights & Shadows. Such imagery does not describe things literally but is representational and symbolic. Metaphors and similes cast the poet's observations in terms of the familiar. The young man in "Student," for example, is compared to a turtle, and the old man in "Bank Fishing for Bluegills" is compared to a boat. The use of figurative images can describe something's appearance and add an emotional element to a poem. Figurative images can also help the reader understand and relate to the theme of a poem. In the poem "Memory," the funnel cloud-pen is a figurative image used to represent the surprising power of memories. "A Jar of Buttons" also uses this technique to convey history and hard work. It begins with the stanza: "This is a core sample / from the floor of the Sea of Mending."