New and Selected Poems

What metaphors are used in New and Selected Poems by Mary Oliver?

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"Prose Poem 2" is a vignette; a snapshot of time, which uses impressionistic language to produce a "painterly" quality when read. Oliver's words help the reader to form vivid pictures in his/her mind. While the story itself is somewhat simple, there is a quality of the profound in the final few lines. In the presence of the ominous hawk, the hummingbird "hunkered [...] God's gorgeous, flashing jewel: afraid." It is not until the end of the piece does the reader learn that "all narrative is metaphor," and one is left to decipher the meaning of the episode for oneself.

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New and Selected Poems