In the poetry collection Gardening in the Tropics, Olive Senior teaches readers about Caribbean traditions, such as the traditional uses of annatto and guinep in her poem "Annatto and Guinep' and immigrant traditions in his poem 'Stowaway', while abandoning the conventional poetic structures of meter and rhyme in most of his poems. She highlights the importance of Caribbean traditions in order to teach readers and highlight the effect that the lack of tradition has on the region today. However, in some of her poems in which she emphasizes the theme of tradition, we find evidence of these poetic structures, as seen in "Marassa: Divine Twins" and "Meditation on Yellow". Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayIn the poem “Annatto and Guinep,” found in the “Nature Studies” section, Olive Senior teaches readers about traditional uses plants, without using meter or rhyme. Senior begins the poem by saying that in today's society, no one appreciates Annatto and Guinep like those before. She lists the different ways in which they were previously used in an attempt to teach readers the usual uses: “Peasants used to use annatto/ to color their food […] As for Guinep: it's worse./ Only children confess that they adore him. She explains how those who came before her cherished these two, and again she lists the different ways they were used by the Arawaks. She urges readers to “think” about annatto and Guinep and to remember our ancestors before us when we use them. Ultimately, it references the traditional Taino story of the Sun and the Moon. Despite the lack of conventional poetic structures, Senior was still able to convey the importance of these traditions to readers. These traditions highlight the effect of colonialism and neocolonialism on the Caribbean today; we focus more on products from foreign countries, like apples instead of Guinea, which makes us forget our roots. Likewise, the lack of conventional poetic structures is also seen in his poem “Stowaway,” even though it highlights immigrant traditions. The poem details the journey of a stowaway as he ventures toward a "promised land." A stowaway usually faces dangerous situations because they are on the ship illegally and are in constant fear of being caught. In the first line, the immigrant says, "There's so much space between me and/discovery," indicating that he is about to be caught by a teammate. This was the traditional way for Caribbean people to travel to the United States. They boarded ships illegally, hid for days without food or water, and if they were not caught during the voyage, they made it home. By highlighting this dangerous tradition, Olive Senior emphasizes the colonial mentality and the effects of neocolonialism on Caribbean peoples; they prefer to brave perilous journeys to reach the United States rather than stay in their region. She does not use rhyme or meter, because these poetic structures would give too much rhythm to the poem and minimize the seriousness of this tradition. However, in some of her other poems, such as "Meditation on Yellow", as she explores Caribbean traditions, meter and rhyme are present. In this poem, the character expresses frustration and difficulties.