The poem "Shoulders" by Naomi Shihab Nye stresses the need for people to care for each other similar to the way a father does for his son. The father in the poem is described carrying his sleeping son across a road in the rain, protecting him from both traffic and the elements. This symbolizes the way in which we should watch out for and keep one another safe - we all need to be “carried” at times. The speaker observes this symbolic man and comments to the reader on the wider implications of his actions. This theme could be understood at the micro or macro levels: at the level of individuals or at the level of people, nations, or cultures.
The speaker refers to “a man” rather than “the man,” indicating in this choice of the indefinite article that this man is non-specific. It could be any man. It could also be nearly anywhere and anytime in the twentieth century, as the only specific indicator of time or place is the road and the threat of the automobile. Demonstrating great care, the man looks twice in both directions, steps gently, and ensures that no car splashes the boy or drives so near as to disturb his dreams. Significantly, the man has no apparent concern for himself.
The meter of the poem is irregular and the stanzas is of varying length, but there are other elements that give it form. The second and last stanzas create a kind of repetition, each consisting of two short statements beginning with the same word: “No” in the first case, and “The” in the second. The