“Four who do not belong here, but are here” (line 2) from Four Skinny Trees by Sandra Cisneros. This piece of text shows a background of the author’s life and describes her, and a group of friends who stick together. The poem displays a strong mood, while also using personification. The theme of this poem is if you have friends then nothing can bring you down.

This poem isn’t really about four skinny trees. It personifies them to describe the narrator and her group of friends. Personification is giving life like qualities to an inanimate object. One example of personification in this poem is,”Four skinny trees with skinny necks and pointy elbows like mine” (1-2). This is describing what she looks like using trees instead of describing people. More personification is shown in the line,”Let one forget his reason for being, they’d all droop like tulips in a glass, each with their arms around the other” (6). This doesn’t only show personification, it shows symbolism. By using “each with their arms around the other,” it shows that they stick together, and have a strong friendship. Another way it shows personification in the poem is, “They grow up and grow down and grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger “(4-5). This sentence is using the words “toes” and “teeth” to personify the trees and show their anger.

This poem gives off a radiance, also known as the mood. The mood of this poem is angry, but at the same time, it feels sad. The mood is shown in the line,”Four who do not belong here but are here. Four raggedy excuses planted by the city” (2). That line makes you feel like everything is hopeless, and that the whole world is out to get them. In the sense of being angry, this line supports it:”They grow up and grow down and grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger” (4-5). When it says “never quit their anger” it means that they are always angry, and won’t quit being angry. They are angry because they think they are out of place and don’t fit in. Another example of the mood being sad and angry is, “They are the only ones who understand me. I am the only one who understands them” (1). In this line she’s talking about the trees, who are actually her friends. It’s saying that no one understands her except her friends, making it feel like no one else ever will.

This poem has a strong theme that is important in everyday life. It is that if you have friends, then nothing can bring you down. It also means that you don’t have to have a lot of friends, but just a few really good ones. There is proof of this in the line ,”They are the only ones who understand me. I am the only ones who understand them” (1). This piece of text shows that they are four really good friends who are the only ones that understand each other. More proof is given in this line,”Let one forget his reason, they’d all drop like tulips in a glass, each with their arms around the other” (6). This line is showing that they are great friends. By using “each with their arms around the other,” it also shows that if one forgot their reason, they would all fall apart or catch the one that fell. There is also evidence in this line,”Their strength is secret” (4). The trees strength is secret because they were described as weak and skinny. Their secret strength is their friendship, and together, nothing will wrong them.

The poem Four Skinny Trees has many things in it that are hidden. One being that the trees are personified as the narrator’s friends. They stick together, and nothing can bring them down. But if one forgot their reason, they’d all fall apart. This poem radiates a mood of sadness and anger. Yet, It inspires you to make friends, and keep your best ones because they will get you through.