Torture by Alice Walker

Torture

When they torture your mother

plant a tree

When they torture your father

plant a tree

When they torture your brother

and your sister

plant a tree

When they assassinate

your leaders

and lovers

plant a tree

Whey they torture you

too bad

to talk

plant a tree.

When they begin to torture

the trees

and cut down the forest

they have made

start another. 

Alice Walker


 Torture by Alice Walker morals are what doesn’t kill you make you stronger. That each obstacle gives you a since of wisdom in life. That life isn’t always easy and you have get back up from the hard stuff in life. Alice Walker use free verse and she seems very calm when writing this poem. The poem mainly contains unstressed sylabules . Alice Walker use a lot of different poetry devices such as imagery, metaphors, alteration, extend metaphor, refrain, and symbol. In most of her poems the imagery is easy to find. For example the line when they assassinate your leaders and lovers. Alice Walker use symbol trees to represent the different obstacles you face in life. The forest symbolizes the wisdoms you have in life and obstacles you faced in life. The trees are also used as metaphors and extend metaphors. In the repeated line plant a tree shows these two
metaphors. Also the line plant a tree is a refrain she uses because of the repeated phrase. Alice Walker also use alteration when she writes plant a tree.