The vision of a little girl admiring herself in front to the mirror wearing her

mother’s or eldest sister’s shoes, make up or accessories, is one that is relatable to

almost everyone around the world. However, attempting to become an adult before
time can bring about its problems, as there is a time and place for everything. In the
poem “Poem for my Sister” Liz Lochhead touches upon several themes including the
dangers of growing up too fast and mistaken life choices. She conveys these themes in
her 3 stanza, free verse poem through the use several metaphorical references to shoes
and feet, which coupled with aural imagery and a first-person point of view, illustrates
how she hopes her sister will not follow in her footsteps and make the same mistakes as
her.

To begin with, the extended metaphor regarding shoes is the most prominent
device that can be noted in the poem. Lochhead vividly depicts the image of a little girl
admiring herself in front of the mirror trying on “my shoes”. This already denotes the
sister’s urge to become a grown up. Furthermore, the fact that these are “high heels”
and they “are hard to balance” is a metaphor suggesting that the sister is not ready for
adulthood yet, as she is not proficient at walking in high heels, thereby “wobbles” and
probably trips. The effect of the authorial choices is clear: the sister is not ready to
become an adult. After the poetess has metaphorically implied the above concept
regarding the “unsuitable shoes” suggesting her own mistaken choices in life, she
proceeds to add another metaphor, but this time implying childhood: the games
hopscotch and peever. It is noted the sister is “competent” at these games, alluding to
the fact that one should concentrate on what one can do well at a certain age, and not
try and grow up too fast. This is emphasized by the lexical field of diction of “hops” and
“skips” which are words generally used for children, and the fact that she “never
oversteps the line” accentuates this notion.

Additionally, Liz Lochhead employs a range of aural imagery which alludes to

both, the theme of growing up too quickly.

Finally, the use of the first-person narrative in the poem is extremely important
at conveying the poetess’ secondary message.

All in all, Liz Lochhead’s “Poem for My Sister” employs the extensive metaphor of
shoes, using the well-known concept of being in someone else’s shoes, to warn her
sister, and perhaps other young readers against the dangers of not enjoying the
moment one is living in and growing up too fast. Through the use of a certain lexical
field of diction regarding shoes and feet, the metaphor of the game of hopscotch
representing childhood, together with aural imagery and a first-person perspective, she
writes a very personal poem which apart from sisterly love and concern could also deal
with very personal issues regarding past mistakes