The Unloosening Of The Tree's Arms By Margaret Atwood

In the second stanza, the reader expects the empowerment to continue, but is taken aback by the harsh truths that ensue. From empowerment to angry, the tone change is apparent in the second stanza. Atwood states that at the same “moment” of delight mentioned before, “is the same moment the trees unloose their soft arms around you.” This can be interpreted in many ways, because trees support people in multiple means: wood provides houses and fire and lots of types of trees provide food. The imagery in the unloosening of the “tree’s arms” conjures an image of an army of angry trees physically taking back all the housing, furniture, food, and life they have provided. This list of personified things in nature reclaiming what they have given people is
The list continues with auditory imagery: “the birds taking back their language,” as though birds originally inspired all song and music and are angry because it has been taken for granted. The next line describes earthquake occurrences when “the cliffs fissure and collapse,” describing a world that falls apart because they people on it do not deserve the beauty anymore. The last lines of the stanza enforce more imagery to appeal to all the senses: “the air moves back from you like a wave” reminds the reader of the feeling of not being able to breathe. Everyone wants to believe that they are “one with nature,” but after relating so closely to the first stanza, the reader feels guilty for aggravating nature to the point of what is personified. This stanza is unique because the poem has not yet stated the reason for Mother Nature’s rage and the reader braces herself for what is coming in the third stanza, like a child waiting to be punished when she doesn’t know what she did