Alarcón's Poem 'Words Are Birds'

In "words are birds" Francisco X. Alarcón uses many metaphors comparing words to birds to suggest that words, although many and vastly different, all fall under one category and unite us all. The poem begins by giving the reader an overview of how words and birds are related: "words / are birds / that arrive / with books / and spring" (1-5). The correlation between words and books is obvious, as they are often put together, but the author is comparing words to spring as well to show that we use words from basically birth, and the line "and spring" brings to mind ideas of birth and renewal. This is just one example of how we all speak different kinds of words, but they all fall under the category that is "words", just like we all talk, or babble from birth, even if it is in different languages. …show more content…
For example, the lines "some words / die / caged- / they're difficult / to translate" (35-40). These lines allude to speaking and languages through the word "translate". The first word that comes to mind when this word is read is something related to speaking, learning a language, and so on. Translation also allows people of different languages to understand each other. This, once again, ties back to the idea that words may be different but they can still bring us all together.

To add to the idea of words being universal, the author includes the lines "for them / there are / no borders" (16-18). This applies to birds, as they can fly basically anywhere they wish, without passports or customs, and because birds are being compared to words, the same applies to words. They can go anywhere, and be spoken by anyone. They are