A speaker observes a brown-skinned woman who has no idea how beautiful she is. She believes her brown body has no glory, and the speaker aches over that. In the speaker’s imagination, if she could dance naked beneath palm trees and see herself in a river, she would finally recognize her worth. The palm tree and river suggest a world where she is natural, free, and reflected clearly. But the actual street offers nothing like that. Dishwater gives back no images. The poem quietly mourns the way the city, poverty, and racism can rob someone of a sense of her own beauty. The mood is tender and sad, full of admiration that she cannot yet feel for herself.
No Images — Summary
She does not know Her beauty, She thinks her brown body Has no glory.
If she could dance Naked, Under palm trees And see her image in the river She would know.
But there are no palm trees On the street, And dish water gives back no images.