nettles, quickdraw imagery comparison

In nettles imagery is used to describe the nettles: “that regiment of spite”, “green spears” “fierce parade”. Martial imagery is juxtaposed against the domestic setting. They portray the aggressive nature of the nettles but also signify the father’s perspective, as he sees the nettles as a threat against his son and therefore must protect him. This metaphor is continued as the nettles ,“tall recruits”, are “called up” (echoing the language of conscription) and his “son would often feel sharp wounds again” suggesting that this army cannot be defeated, or maybe simply that the father cannot protect his son from the inevitable. “White blisters beaded on his tender skin”: the alliteration of the ‘b’ sound is soothing and emphasises the pain he must feel on his “tender skin”. “He offered us a watery grin”, shows the vulnerability of the son again showing the parents need to protect him but makes the reader question if it justifies the father’s aggression as he “slashed in fury” to get rid of the nettles.

The poem uses the extended metaphor of a gunfight to represent the emotional aggression between the lovers.
‘Like guns’ communication over the phone are being used as a way to emotionally hurt each other. The act of pulling a trigger is intentional, as are their words during this argument. ‘I twirl the phone’ as though it were a gun which suggests a confidence for the speaker. They are willing and ready to use their weapon. Hurting each other is two-way. The poem later says: “wide off the mark” this shows she was ineffective at hurting her lover, or suggests that she didn’t really want to hurt her partner. The poem goes on to say: ‘blast me’ this is a powerful line and the power of what has been said shows that she is hurt and the reader has been affected by what has been said. ‘Down on my knees’ this shows to the reader that she has been wounded by what she has said and has made her weaker. The writer later on describes the kisses at the end of the message as