Hand Shadows by Mary Cornish

In Hand Shadows, Mary Cornish uses an intimate and playful tone with the use of imagery and metaphor to show the connection and bonding between father and daughter. The father is creating animals through hand shadows in a tent. These hand shadows represent the relationship between them. The “swan would turn its perfect neck and drop it’s fingered beak toward that shadowed head to lightly preen my father's feathered hair. This is comparing her father to a swan showing that her father is a gentle and loving person. In the end of the poem her “father’s hands became two birds, linked by a thumb, they flew one following the other.” This shows the connection between the father and daughter. They are like birds one who follows in the footsteps of her father and one who leads. The fact that they are linked by a thumb represents trust and security. Mary Cornish uses these techniques well to show the priceless connection between a father and daughter.