originally

• • “fell through the fields”

  The word "fell" has connotations of uncontrollable movement. This adds to the idea that Duffy feels she has no control over moving away from the nome she loves. This is effective as it shows she feels that she is powerless to stop the move.
• • “the miles rushed back to the city”

  Duffy uses personification here to suggest the miles are human. Just as someone may rush back home so too the miles really want to go home. This is effective as it suggests how the poet feels about desperately wanting to go home.
• • “the city, the street, the house, the vacant rooms”

  Duffy uses a list here to suggest all the many things Duffy is leaving behind. This is effective as it emphasises all the different locations Duffy links to home and how deeply it affects her.
• • “I stared at the eyes of a blind toy, holding its paw”

  The word "stared" has connotations of deep focus, suggesting that the poet is very concentrated on her toy, perhaps to avoid becoming upset - she needs something to distract her from the tragedy of moving homes.
• • “All childhood is an emigration.”

  Duffy uses a metaphor which compares leaving childhood to leaving a familiar country. Just as leaving a familiar country can be a scary and upsetting change, so too is leaving childhood behind and moving towards adolescence. This effective as it shows that change is experienced by everyone, even if it’s not the change Duffy experienced.
• • “Others are sudden.”

  The short sentence here is effective as the shortness of the sentence mirrors how quickly the change happened. This is effective as it emphasises the dramatic and unexpectedness this change was for Duffy.
• • “Your accent wrong.”

  The word “wrong” has connotations of something being, not just different, but unacceptable. This is effective as it suggests just how isolated Duffy felt as she did not fit in.
• • “My parents’ anxiety stirred like loose tooth in my head.” 

  Duffy uses a simile here in which her parents’ anxiety is compared to a loose tooth. Just as a loose tooth is something you are always aware of, so too Duffy was always aware of the worries her parents felt about the move and whether it was the right thing. This is effective as it shows that the whole family were affected by the move.
• • “But then you forget, or don’t recall, or change.”

  Duffy uses repetition of “or” here. This is effective as it suggests that Duffy cannot be sure of how she adapted to her new home, and she gives different alternatives of how it might have happened, suggesting that it was a gradual process which she does not really

  remember happening to her.
• • “feel only a skelf of shame”

  Duffy uses a metaphor in which a feeling is compared to a skelf. Just as a skelf is a tiny splinter, so too Duffy felt only a small amount of shame when her brother swallowed a slug. This is effective as it shows that she has adapted to her new home. The use of the Scottish word “skelf” does, however, show that she still feels a connection to her old home and Scottish identity and she hasn’t forgotten her roots.
• • “my tongue shedding its skin like a snake”

  Duffy uses a simile here in which her accent is compared to a snake shedding its skin. Just as a snake sheds its skin and reveals a new one, so too Duffy’s old accent disappeared and was replaced by a new accent. This is effective as it shows that she has adapted to her new home and now fits in with everyone else.
• • “Do I only think/ I lost a river, culture, speech …?”

  The long list here lists the many things Duffy has lost during her move. This is effective as it emphasises the amount of things Duffy has had to give up during her journey.
• • “And I hesitate.”

  The use of a short sentence here is effective as it emphasises her uncertainty about the answer as she does not really know how important her early roots are. This is really what the whole poem is about: her true identity and what shaped it.