Maya Angelou's hair
In the text, the narrator (Maya Angelou) describes her own hair using a simile where she compares her hair, which she had allowed to grow into a wide and unstraightened hedge to the clipped branches of a tree. This direct comparison enhances imagery: "Although I took Guy to a San Francisco barber, I allowed my own hair to grow into a wide unstraightened hedge, which made me look, at a distance, like a tall brown tree whose branches had been clipped."
The laying of Billie's hand in Angelou's
When Billie Holiday visits Maya's house, she describes the way Billie's hand lay in hers using a simile in which she compares it directly to a child's rubber toy: "When she walked into the house, her eyes were a flat black, and when Wilkie introduced us, her hand lay in mine like a child's rubber toy."
Billie's voice penetrating Angelou's song
During one of her performances in a club, Maya Angelou describes Billie's voice as it penetrated through the song she was singing to the sound of shattering glass. Through this direct comparison, Angelou is able to convey the intensity and magnitude of Billie's voice: "The music was a dirge and the lyrics tragic. I had my eyes closed when suddenly like a large glass shattering, Billie's voice penetrated the song."
Mom Willie's Southern background
After visiting John and Grace Killen's place in Brooklyn, the narrator uses a simile to convey how John's mother, Mom Willie wore her Southern background to a magnolia corsage. This direct comparison conveys to the reader how she always took care of it, keeping it fresh: "John's mother, Mom Willie, who wore her Southern background like a magnolia corsage, eternally fresh, was robust and in her sixties."
Barbara's darting around the house
Additionally, at the Killen's, Maya Angelou likens Barbara (the youngest of the Killen children) to a cinnamon-colored wind: "Barbara, the younger of the Killens children, was a bright tomboy who spoke fast and darted around the house like a cinnamon-colored wind."
