Bird shooting Season

Bird shooting season the men

make marriages with their guns

My father’s house turns macho

as from far the hunters gather

All night long the contentless women

stir their brews: hot coffee

chocolata, cerassie

wrap pone and tie-leaf

for tomorrows’ sport. Tonight

the men drink white rum neat.

In the darkness shouldering

their packs, guns, they leave

We stand quietly on the

Doorstep shivering. Little boys

longing to grow up bird hunters too

Little girls whispering:

Fly Birds Fly

Stanza 1: metaphor/alliteration

The poet uses a combination of alliteration and metaphor in "men make marriages with
their guns." The repetition of the deep, manly 'm' sound sets up bird shooting season as a
time meant mostly for the enjoyment of men and for them to display their male prowess.
The metaphor 'make marriages with their guns' conveys the care and attention they give
to their guns, as though actually marrying them. Thus, they prioritize the condition of
their guns, doting on them like in marriage- as they are they are the primary tools they
need to work in union with for bird shooting.

Stanza 2: contrast

Transitions to what the women of the house are doing in contrast to the men, who are
going out shooting the women are inside doing more domestic tasks to show the stark
difference between the roles of men and women. “All night contentless women stir their
brews…” the word contentless here could mean that these women here are docile and
obedient doing the cooking as the strong men go out to kill, or contentless as in women are
dissatisfied with the role of having to cook for tomorrow’s “sport” while the men drink
hard white rum and enjoy themselves. Women in the poem are shown doing the traditional
domestic tasks in short women in the kitchen.

Stanza 3: imagery

Within this stanza the device imagery can be seen. Using imagery, we can visualize what is
happening in this stanza. We can see the men walking away in the darkness with their guns
and equipment for hunting

Stanza 4: contrast

We can see this device when the poet mentions the different thoughts of each gender in
this stanza. Little boys longing to grow up bird hunters too Little girls whispering: Fly
Birds Fly." Shivering in the cold morning air, boys seem to idolize the bird hunting men,
hoping to become like them in the future. By contrast, the girls hope for the birds to fly
away, whispering encouragement for them to escape. This reflects a more empathetic and
caring sentiment that is contrary to the aggressive masculinity of the men.