My Grandmother Had One Good Seed Poem Analysis

In all three poems, ‘My Grandmother Had One Good Coat’ written by poet Tony Medina, ‘Seeds’, which was written by poet Javaka Steptoe, and ‘The Farmer’, which was written by poet Carole Boston Weatherford, there is a general theme that you can relate to the moral of the story. The developed theme is to build a kind/giving legacy, the family values that are passed down, to give to your children and others who matter. There are also contrasting elements that are different between each poem. To start off, all three poems are about an adult and a child, for example, in ‘Seeds’ the child is giving advice to the parent. In ‘The Farmer, the child thinks about his stern pa. Again, in the poem about the coat, the child talks to the adult and gets help. Another relative component is that the speaker is the child in each poem.
‘The Farmer’ and ‘My Grandmother Had One Good Coat’ each have parts that are

the same, and also parts that are different. In the poem ‘The Farmer’, the poet develops the theme by describing the actions of a farmer who works hard for his children- “plowing and planting his whole life away”, for his children. In the other poem, ‘My Grandmother Had One Good Coat’, the poet describes a problem and how it is helped to be fixed by the adult figure in the poem- “...and handed me her black dress coat and said here put it in a shopping bag”(to give to the homeless woman)-, in order to fix a bother that the child has because of the homeless lady being cold. Both are talking about a guardian figure helping a young one, while one is more direct, by working away, and the other poem is less direct, but still is helpful and kind. Also, in each poem, the child learns from watching their elders. For example, in ‘The Farmer’ the elder (even if it is not obvious) is teaching the child to be hardworking and giving. In ‘My Grandmother Had One Good Coat’ the grandmother sets an example of what is right, to teach the child to be nice, even if someone is unkind to you- “who sat taunting passerbys” and “hiding her pain behind curses and scowls.”
The poem ‘Seeds’ is the most unlike the other two poems.

But, it is at least in one way alike. When comparing ‘My Grandmother Had One Good Coat’ to ‘Seeds’, what stands out is that they are both about setting a good example. In ‘Seeds’ the hidden message is to do good because, for better or worse, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree; meaning the child grows up by what the parent says, and that the parent should be cautious of what they say because the child might grow up like that. “I listened and ate the words you said to grow up strong. Like the trees, I grew, branches, leaves, flowers, and then the fruit.” It is also similar to the other poems because it shows an example. Although it is slightly hidden, the example in ‘Seeds’ is of the poet and his experiences in life. On the other hand, ‘Seeds’ is unlike the other poems because it talks about not what they do, but what they say. It talks about the words and how the child ‘eats’ the words and grows up by them. In the writing “I became the words I ate in you” Each other poem, the child grows up by what the parent

does.
Each three poems have a general theme, comparing elements, and contrasting elements. That general theme is that you should build, by action or by speech, a kind, giving legacy (family values that are passed down) to share with your children and ones who care. The poems ‘My Grandmother Had One Good Coat’ and ‘The Farmer’ are very alike, while ‘Seeds’ has close to the same meaning, but not exposed in the same, easy-to-understand way.