ANALYSIS: This relates to both Hagar and Milkman, but in different ways. For Hagar, this poem, it enforces the gender roles that she has to face, with it saying, "It is your nature to be small and cozy, domestic and weak...". Hagar is treated by Milkman as an object that makes him feel better about himself, and doesn't treat their relationship in the traditional way that Hagar wants. For Milkman, this poem shows the racism and roles that he faces with both white people and his own father, with the poem saying, "But a gardener carefully pruned it...", which is a metaphor for Macon holding his own son back by forcing him to do errands for his business instead of letting Milkman be independent.