Resilient Trees

In "Four Skinny Trees", the extended metaphor used by the speaker describes a resilient theme, as she describes the trees as unwanted, but they still stand there, just as she thinks of herself. She says that the trees are "Four raggedy excuses planted by the city" but later goes on to say "Four who grew despite concrete. Four who reach and do not forget to reach. Four whose only reason is to be and be", this personifies the trees, and gives them purpose in life as just to stand there. She compares them to herself by saying "When I am too sad and too skinny to keep keeping, when I am a tiny thing against so many bricks, then it is I look at these trees." This tells the readers that she is resilient despite her opinion that she has no purpose in life, as are the four skinny trees.