Secrets
Each of the poems penned by Nichols deals in some way with the keeping of secrets. The most outwardly secretive character is the Cat in "Cat-Rap", who is hiding his double life from his owners, and not only hiding it but reveling in his subterfuge. He portrays himself at home as a gentle, domesticated cat, while carrying on a secret urban hip hop lifestyle when their backs are turned.
The speaker in "Like a Beacon", probably Nichols herself, feels that she is conspiring with Guyana to keep her passion for her childhood home, and her yearning for it, a secret from all the passers by who assume she is a person like them from the area. Even the simple act of carrying a plantain, a symbol for Nichols of her home, is an act of quiet secrecy that brings her pleasure and reassures her at the same time.
The main theme of the poem "For Forest" is secrecy and Forest's ability to keep secrets is emphasized in the first two lines of the poem, and again in the last stanza. We are also given the impression that Forest is the keeper of deep mystical knowledge that we cannot possibly understand. This, too, is her secret.
Guyana
Nichols is from Guyana and one of the key themes in her poems is her Guyanian heritage which she clearly loves and misses now that she is living in London. "Like A Beacon" deals with this homesickness, describing how, without warning, homesickness can hit her and that she is experiencing a deep longing for the taste and the smell of her mother's Guyanian food that is so powerful it can almost transport her there.
"Like a Forest" gives powerful imagery of the rainforest regions of Guyana, and Nichols describes its beauty and overpowering magnificence, detailing the sounds and appearance but also small details too, such as the "teeming creeping of the forest ground", a reference to the bug life on the forest floor. She also reminisces about the days before humans took over the forest and it was in its natural state, a beautiful and heavenly place. Nichols writes about Guyana as her heaven and her poetry definitely reflects this.
