Read the excerpt below and answer the question.

The first tick-tockings of my small heart
still alive in the chimney fittings
and in the crannies of the old bricks
and they're still visible on the door and walls
is that look of shame,
my mother’s look at my father
and my grandfather

A choked voice murmured
"It’s a girl"
The midwife trembled
unsure of her birthing fee
and goodbye to the circumcision feast

In at least one hundred words, discuss the tone of this excerpt from "Birthplace," and explain its significance in terms of the poem’s cultural context. What poetic devices help to convey this tone?

Question

Read the excerpt below and answer the question.

The first tick-tockings of my small heart
still alive in the chimney fittings
and in the crannies of the old bricks
and they're still visible on the door and walls
is that look of shame,
my mother’s look at my father
and my grandfather

A choked voice murmured
"It’s a girl"
The midwife trembled
unsure of her birthing fee
and goodbye to the circumcision feast

In at least one hundred words, discuss the tone of this excerpt from "Birthplace," and explain its significance in terms of the poem’s cultural context. What poetic devices help to convey this tone?