Kamikaze	Ideological power (Japanese culture of honour and the impact of shame) and the impact that society has on family members. The pilot suffers from inner conflict as he wishes to live but also honour his country, his inner conflict is not resolved due to his family ostracizing him and so “he wondered which had been the better way to die”. We never hear from the pilot, the effect of this is to silence his voice from the reader and show his isolation – as we hear of him but not from him, he does not have a voice, he has been silenced. The reader could interpret his actions as powerful as he does not conform to the cultural pressure to be a suicide bomber despite his “shaved head and powerful incantations”. The poem shows the power of the family which is stronger for him than state power. Nature’s beauty and preciousness as shown through the “silver” fish helps the pilot to turn around. Nature has a positive role in this poem.
Checking out Me History	Ideological power is demonstrated as the speaker is taught a history that is not his. His heritage is in conflict with the dominant heritage and his heritage is suppressed. However the speaker it could be argued is powerful as he is defiant and tries to educate the reader of the his culture, thus showing that the dominant culture’s power is not absolute. This is further shown by the speaker’s refusal to conform to the use of standard English in the poem showing his conflict with the dominant powers in society. The repetition of “dem” highlights this, also “dem” is dismissive. He repeats “dem “ and “me” throughout the poem showing the conflict between the individual and the group “dem”. Perhaps Agard is demanding the reader carve their own identity and avoid the dominant ideology form “bandaging up” their eyes. Bandage has positive connotations of healing but in this context the connotation is negative , this juxtaposition where he uses the metaphor to suggest harm and not healing perhaps highlights a bigger idea that the dominant ideology/ power hides between “healing” when in fact they are harming.
The Emigree	The speaker uses the concept of “sunlight” to highlight that the memories of her country nurture her. Also the poem is about her loss of physical connection with her country but she remains emotionally connected to it and also culturally as she does not stop using her native language. The metaphor of a “hollow doll” suggests she has no connections with the country she as is now, she feels empty and dead. Because the sun nurtures, perhaps she is trying to hold on to her memories that are like sunlight to help her stay alive as she is in conflict with her identify and the present society she finds herself in. The society feel she is a burden and they not only do not welcome her, they actively want rid of her. The society is portrayed as being unkind to victims of war. The last stanza has an extra line compared to the other two stanzas, possibly signifying her addition to the death toll.
Tissue	Dharker explores the idea that paper and its uses help to inform future generations e.g. through the Koran etc. The title is a pun – Tissue as in paper and human tissue, this signifies that both are linked – perhaps it suggests our reliance on the external. Humanity is portrayed as powerful as paper is manmade and Dharker highlights how it controls our lives e.g. money leads to capitalism and can be destructive for some in society who are not winners of the system, this is further hinted when she references “what was paid by credit card”. The paper signifies human power and this is juxtaposed with nature’s power which is shown through the sunlight.  When the sunlight shines through the paper it suggests the ultimate power of nature. This idea is also reinforced by the repetition of “thinning”. Paper is made from trees also which further shows humanity’s attempt to destroy and alter the land as we use trees to create paper and then “buildings that were never meant to last”.
War Photographer	“spools of suffering” the plurality of the spools shows the plurality of conflict – conflict affects many people and is present everywhere. The poem shows the lack of care by those not involved or near the conflict, the contrast present in the poem shows that the