Whistles - “Blasting from Heaven”
The speaker says, “The dawn /still hasn’t come, and now we hear/the 8 o’clock whistles blasting from heaven.” The whistles signify the astounding birds’ song which herald a new day. The bird’s moments of singing are analogous to blasts that rouse the universe from inactivity.
Green trees - “Buying Earth”
The green trees are portion of the earth that Philip Levine procured during his childhood. Levin writes, “It was summer. The trees greened.” The trees are representative of appreciated life. A paucity of the greenness would denote the bereavement of the earth.
Rosebush - “Burial Rights”
Philip Levin explicates, “The small blossoms/never unfurl; whatever they know/they keep to themselves until/a morning rain or a night wind/pares the petals down to nothing.” The furtive rosebush is on Levin’s mother’s burial place. The rosebush’s secrecy, which is portrayed by its reluctance to unfurl, mirrors the vagueness of life after death. The actuality of post-death activities is blurred.
Baby Villon - “Baby Villon”
Baby Villon epitomizes Intersectional Identity. Philip Levine explains, “He tells me in Bangkok he’s robbed/Because he’s white; in London because he’s black; /In Barcelona, Jew; in Paris, Arab.” Baby Villon is labelled differently based on his color (in Bangkok), black blood (in London), religion (Barcelona) and ethnicity (in Paris). The variables that are used to catalogue him diverge subject to his locality. Baby Villon submits to dissonant reality in all the cities that he goes due to the overlying fragments of his/ her identity.
