"Let us not name our old friends who are unravelling like fairy tales in the forests of the dead."
This quote is exceptionally powerful and evokes a strong sense of empathy in the reader. It focuses on the hardships these immigrants had to go through by leaving behind their country, culture, and community. They are no longer connected to the friends and family who had once been a primary aspect of their lives and it has hurt them. What makes this quote so unique is the usage of the simile, "like fairy tales in the forests of the dead." Not only is it eye-catching due to its uniqueness, it creates a strong sense of imagery that helps the reader envision the poem.
"I saw a woman hold
the tattered edge of the world
in her hand"
In this poem, the main focus is on the women and mothers of Madras, India who have gone desperately searching for their missing children. The tone that is evident in this passage is one of grief, desperation, and shock. As a result, this quote accurately embodies the message of the poem and conveys the feelings felt by the protagonists to the readers. This woman was holding the tattered edge of the world in her hand and what is meant by that is that her whole world has been completely shattered. She has just realized she has lost her children forever to the grasps of death, and there is nothing she can do about it. The woman is completely and utterly destroyed by this realization and cannot even move.
"Begin to cry — really — to scream
About the tarnished weight of dreams."
In this poem, which in itself is enchanting in its abstractness and profound message, this quote was especially striking. In this quote, the author is describing how the body, which represents the soul or embodiment of an individual, goes through extreme pain, sorrow, and hardship. The "weight of dreams" is all the forces of an individual's life and all the expectations and responsibilities that may be put on them: supporting their family, educating themselves, maintaining financial stability, or even failing to realize their true potential. All these distinct factors form together to create what could be called an astonishing weight upon an individual. As a result of this, there is external evidence of the pain that individual may feel, released in the form of cries and screams.
"Let us not speak of men,
stolen from their beds at night."
This quote effectively conveys the message of the song and fulfills the purpose of the author. In this poem, Immigrant's Song, Tishani Doshi is describing the life and various hardships that immigrants and immigrants-to-be encounter. She elaborates by pinpointing the ways these immigrants either hurdle these obstacles or are dragged down by them. One of these hardships, to say the very least, is demonstrated in this quote. Immigrant families have lost their fathers and brothers to the local violence and horror that engulfs their communities, yet the families must persevere through their grief to provide for each other. Not only does this idea and quote evoke a strong sense of sympathy through its vivid description of the loss of family, but it also frankly describes the central theme in a manner that is unique to poetry.
