Birdfoot’s Grampa

Grampa’s hands are a prominent image in the poem, appearing in both the first stanza and the third stanza. They are likened to leather in Line 14, and the metaphor connects the hands to nature and to the poet’s Native heritage. The worn quality symbolizes Grampa’s time at work and his connection to the earth. In the third stanza, the hands are “full / of wet brown life” (Lines 14-15) as he scoops up the toads from the roadway that represent of all life. The smallness of the toads contrasts with the size of Grampa’s hands, which are large and capable enough to move them to safety and to preserve their lives. The image of Grampa’s hands emphasizes the notion of human responsibility to intervene when smaller, weaker lives are vulnerable to injury or death.

The image of the toads emphasize their role in the poem as small, helpless creatures that appear in the road during the rain shower for Grampa to rescue. From the road, the toads will eventually travel back to the water to mate and the cycle will begin all over again, and their motion echoes the theme of the cyclical nature of life.