There are many ways people express their love or affection towards one another. They might show how much they love someone through gifts, comfort, warmth, and maybe just spending time with them. However, in "I Am Offering This Poem" by Jimmy Santiago Baca, he is expressing his love by similes through this poem. He uses similes in order to show that his poem can show as much love, then receiving gifts or treasures, if not more. Jimmy Santiago Baca uses similes in his poem to express his feelings that are from his heart, offering this poem as a sign of love and affection. .
Jimmy Santiago Baca uses a lot of similes, comparing his poem to objects that should be held onto. "I am offering this poem to you/since I have nothing else to give/Keep it like a warm coat/when winter comes to cover you" (1-4). Here, he is using the simile as a figure of speech; when it's winter people use coats to keep themselves warm, a figure of speech. Because you can't actually use the poem itself to keep you warm in the winter, can you? No, you can't. In these particular lines he used the simile to help us have a sense of purpose in what he's writing about. Like, the purpose of a coat is to keep you warm, maybe not always in the winter, but the general purpose of it, is to keep you warm. Such is the case in these lines, as well. "Keep it, treasure this as you would/if you were lost, needing direction" (14-15). In these lines he uses a simile to show not just a purpose, but also a direction. When people are lost they use maps or .
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compasses to direct them to a destination. Comparing the poem to that, tells us that when we're lost use his poem to direct you to some destination. Something else that might not always show a purpose or direction, might take us by, surprise. "and in the corner of you drawer/tucked away like a cabin or hogan/in dense trees, come knocking/ and I will answer, give you directions'" (17-20).
