Themes for each poem (2018-2023)

Upon returning to the house, Sophie finds Atie reclined in a chair. After retrieving Brigitte, Atie gets up and looks in her notebook...

Sophie awakes the next morning to watch the sunrise. This attests to the natural beauty of Haiti, and also corresponds to the idea of...

(Download the pdf, it is better formatted than it is in the post below) A document with cross-analyses and comparisons between poems...

The persona seems to be moving out of a house after renting it for a five-week period. Now, all that remains in her space is an orchid in...

This is the Dark Time, My Love Martin Carter This is the dark time, my love, All round the land brown beetles crawl about. The shining...

Just as the title suggests, the poem is about a mirror in its many forms. It is written from the perspective of the mirror as it comments...

The three women sit together and eat supper. Note the mention of the distant light on the hill- it will be referred to later on. When...

Tante Atie and Sophie set foot towards Granmé Ifé’s house. As they pass the people on the road, Sophie notes that the people call Atie...

The 'Ole Higue' is a supernatural character found in Caribbean folklore. This nocturnal being is also called a jumbie, soucouyant and backoo

The book makes another large time skip to Sophie, around two years later, now having returned to Haiti. As the driver of the vehicle she...

Sophie doesn’t tell Joseph about the violation she experienced at the hands of her mother. She is likely both embarrassed because of this...

On the first night Joseph returns from his gig with the band, she goes out with him to hear him play. Martine was working, so Sophie...

The poem is written as a harsh, but ultimately fair criticism of the atrocities of war. The poet wrote this whilst hospitalized after...

The persona (likely a young girl due to their attention to the details of the women's emotions) describes the beginning of birdshooting...

Martine returns home early the following night, and decides to carry Sophie out some place as they hadn’t done anything together...

The book makes a massive six-year time skip to Sophie at the age of 18 about to start college in the fall. Martine puts in more hours at...

School for Sophie doesn’t begin for two months, and in the interim, Martine brings her to work every day. Martine has both a day job and...

In the poem, the persona recalls a childhood where his parents kept him from 'rough' children.

Martine carries Sophie to Flatbush Avenue, a street that reminds Sophie of Haiti. Haiti Express, a business transporting things to Haiti...