What are the motifs in Ode to a Drum by Yusef Komunyakaa?

The cycle of life is a recurring idea in the poem. Through the drum maker's gifts, the gazelle has been given a new life. The drum maker also makes reference to his reverence for animal life by telling the gazelle that it was not "anger" that made him kill, but rather it was a need to feed his child whose prayers for meat did not go unheard. In this way, the drum maker recognized the cycle of life that he and his family, along with the animal world, were a part of.