The Snowflakes Sail Gently Down

Poetry | Gabriel Okara

What do the “oil palms bearing suns for fruits” symbolize?

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What do the “oil palms bearing suns for fruits” symbolize? ✪✪✪

The image of the “oil palms bearing suns for fruits” is one of the most powerful symbols in the poem “Snowflakes Sail Gently Down”. It shows the richness, strength, and creative power of nature. This image connects nature with light, growth, and spiritual renewal.

Symbol Of Fertility And Life: The oil palms are full of energy and fertility. They bear fruits that shine like suns, showing nature’s power to give and sustain life. The poet uses them to express that in silence or winter. Nature never dies; it always finds a way to grow and renew itself. It is presented in the following lines, 

“I dreamed of birds, black birds flying in my inside, nesting and hatching on oil palms bearing suns for fruits.”

Source Of Light And Creation: The phrase “bearing suns for fruits”<
/b> means that the trees carry light and warmth like the sun. The oil palms become symbols of creation and hope. They turn darkness into brightness. It shows how nature transforms death and stillness into life and energy. Through this image, Okara (1921-2019) celebrates the creative spirit of the natural world. He declares regeneration, 

Nesting and hatching on oil palms bearing suns for fruits.

Protection Against Destruction: In the dream, the roots of the oil palms stop the “uprooter’s spades.” It means nature protects itself from human destruction. The oil palms show the strength of the earth and the deep connection between man and nature. They remind us that nature is more powerful than human greed. The poet says,

“nesting and hatching on oil palms bearing suns for fruits and with roots denting the uprooter’s spades.”

The “oil palms bearing suns for fruits” represent creation and renewal in both life and spirit. Through this image, Gabriel Okara shows that nature gives light, hope, and power to humanity. It keeps the cycle of life alive forever.

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