Purpose and intention of the poem

In this poem, the persona seems to be addressing a man who has taken a woman's son into a
life of crime and gun violence. The history of the woman's relationship with her son is
recounted and the love she felt for him even before his birth.

Poetic devices/how effective they are

Irony
"But now he tells her he is working for you, that you value him so much you give him one whole
submachine gun for him alone."
This line is a good example of irony. The mother is told that this gunman values her son so
much that he gives him his own submachine gun. This is ironic because the son feels this false
sense of pride because he is put in charge of this gun.
Biblical allusion

"She says psalms for him, she reads psalms for you,"

This is an allusion to the biblical book of Psalms. The mother says psalms hoping to protect her
child, but she reads psalms for the gunman in hopes of his defeat or injury.

Simile

"She carried him like the poor carry hope"

This simile compares how she carried the child to how those in poverty carry their hope. This
shows that the mother likely saw the son as a potential ticket out of poverty- a child that may
secure that elusive visa and get an opportunity to work abroad, and, remembering his mother,
send remittances to her.