The Construction Site

In "wilting," Kaur uses a construction site to symbolize her relationship with her former lover. Kaur describes the construction site, saying there are "hats lying... where we left them," "pylons unsure of what to guard," and "bulldozers gazing out for our return" (22). In this way, Kaur uses the abandoned construction site to show the lost potential of her former relationship. Kaur ends her poem by asking if "flowers will grow" at the construction site, thus foreshadowing the site's, and by extension her own, recovery from her past relationship.

Shoes

In "wilting," Kaur uses shoes to symbolize how her former lover treated her. Kaur writes that her former lover "[broke] women in like shoes," implying that her former lover objectified and abused women, trying to bend them to his will rather than accepting them as independent people. In addition, shoes are walked on and trodden...