Worst yet, the metaphor underscores the patriarchal ignorance that leads to much female oppression. Within the poem, Piercy uses and extended metaphor which compares men to a gardener, which outlines the damaging effects of patriarchy. Using an cynical tone, Piercy makes her opinions toward patriarchism known. A malicious tone can be observed within lines such as:
“The gardener croons, it is your nature to be small and cozy”, “how lucky, little tree, to have a pot to grow in” or by the sarcastic description of the tree’s pot as being ‘attractive’. Piercy illustrates a gardener who dictates the appearance and growth of a bonsai tree, and compares this relationship to the way men treat women in society. Her opinions of men are represented within
