What metaphors are used in It's like This by Stephen Dobyns?

Metaphors are often used in literary writing. Using metaphor, the author presents the reader with a comparison between two things that at first appear to be dissimilar. In Dobyns's poem, the metaphor is extended, making up the construction of the entire poem. In other words, this poem is not really about a man who has a cord around his neck. It is not really about some man looking into the eyes of his family and having them look at him as if he were a stick. Dobyns is striving to relate a deeper meaning beneath the surface of the words of this poem.