Combing
Gladys Cardiff p.282
Hunter Wilinski
Theme
Imagery (sight)
"My daughter’s hair curls against the comb
Here, the author is saying as she brushes her daughters hair, the curly red hair curls up under the comb.
"wet and fragrant- orange" (7)
The senses displayed in this line could be touch, for the wet, smell, for the fragrant, and sight, for the orange. The author is talking about the way her hair looked felt and smelt while it was being combed.
"rug from bits of orange and brown" (25-26)
Lines 25 and 26 say how when her grandmothers hair was being combed she'd tear strips of brown and orange to braid a rug. This line fits in because the color of orange from the girls hair is resembled again.
Alliteration
"Bending, I bow" (1)
Here, the author is starting off the poem by talking about taking her place sitting down and bending her head down for her mother to start combing.
"curls against the comb" (6)
In this line, Cardiff is saying how her bright red curly hair is curling underneath the comb as her mother brushes it.
"one so young" (9)
This is saying she is quiet and calm as her hair is being brushed. She feels safe.
"I hear the orange coils tick" (15-16)
This line demonstrates the sense hearing. The author tells how when she was a young girl and her mother would comb her hair. It is a familiar sound and comforting.
"braids drawn up tight as a piano wire and singing" (12-13)
lines 12 and 13 are an example of a simile in the poem and also could be a form of personification. It's saying how when the authors mother braided her hair she would braid it so tight that it was as tight as piano wires.
"plaiting the generations." (29)
This line is another form of personification. The word plaiting means braiding. so the line says, "Braiding the generations" and that is just what women are doing when they comb and do each others hair.