In the poem, Neruda uses ‘foot’ as a metaphor for ‘life’. We see different stages in life beginning with infancy or childhood, maturity, adulthood, old age and finally . These stages have been delineated in the poem using ‘foot’ as a metaphor. The poem begins with the infant’ foot. Here, like all ****, the infant’* foot does not even know that it is only a foot. It has dream-like imagination and aspirations. That is why it dreams of flying like a butterfly with absolute freedom and enjoy the pleasures of life which are expressed as a wish to become an apple.
However, once the child’ foot comes to face the external world, it becomes aware that it is only a ‘foot’ and cannot become a butterfly. Then it matures into an and from adulthood grows old and .
The poet describes how the child’ foot which has soft, petal-like toes gets transformed into an foot which has toes which resemble eyeless reptiles, and are covered with nails which are calloused and bear faint volcanoes of *.
Finally, having become an **, it slogs throughout life, relentlessly working in fields, markets, mines and ministries without respite and not enjoying the pleasures of life until it and is *****. Thus, the ‘foot’ as a metaphor serves the poet to express his view of life.
