with its softness and silence Sharing of Sorrow The elm trees in winter reflect human grief The poet writes The branches bow like grief-stricken mourners The bending branches look like people mourning in silence Nature feels the same sorrow as man does Through this image Okara shows that nature shares human suffering The trees and the poet both bow under life s burdens Nature becomes a living companion that understands human pain Dream of Renewal In his dream the poet sees life growing again He says I dreamed of birds black birds flying in my inside These birds represent imagination hope and renewal They fly inside the poet It shows that nature s energy lives within him When he sees oil palms bearing suns for fruits it means that nature gives new life and light Okara connects the renewal of nature to the renewal of the human spirit Man s Greed and Nature s Power Okara also warns about human greed He says roots denting the uprooter s spades The uprooters try to destroy nature but fail The strong roots of the trees show nature s power and resistance The uprooters are tired and weak This shows that humans depend on nature for life When they forget this bond they lose peace and harmony Spiritual Harmony In the end the poet finds faith through nature He sees the trees bow like white-robed Moslems salaaming at evening prayer Nature itself prays in silence The poet feels divine peace in this quiet scene Through this image Okara connects nature with worship and faith He learns that true spirituality lives in harmony between man and the natural world In Snowflakes Sail Gently Down Gabriel Okara beautifully joins human emotion with nature s rhythm When man listens to nature he finds comfort wisdom and faith Okara s message is that nature is not outside us it lives in our soul and gives us peace