How does James Wright in his poem "A Blessing" use figurative language to enhance its meaning?

James Wright's experience as he traveled along a highway
was so momentous to him that he gave the title of his poem a spiritual, almost religious
connotation: "A Blessing." The poet narrates an unforgettable experience which
eventually translates into the metaphysical.

The poem notes
that the scene takes place “just off the highway” which intensifies the gulf between the
manmade road and the beauty of the natural world. It is difficult for the reader not to
hear the wheels spinning on the highway as background for the poet's desire to shut out
the world even as he soulfully embraces it, by becoming something usually regarded as
beautiful yet mindless - a blossom.

It is late in the
evening but the scene is filled with the sensory experience of the bounding hooves of
the two small ponies. Seeing the men move into their world, the horses come happily out
from the  trees. As they move toward the men, an oxymoronic phrase surprises the
reader:

And
the eyes of those two Indian ponies

Darken
with
kindness.

The
word darken implies something evil or wrong; however, the horses' pupils enlarge with
affection as the they realize that the men are coming into their
world.

Ironically, these beautiful horses who appear wild
and free are enclosed with “barbed wire” which the men step over. The wire seems so out
of place in this natural setting. Filled with the luscious imagery, the poet sees the
horses ripple their muscles as horses do. Grazing all day and lonely, they long  for
attention. It seems as though they can hardly contain their joy in seeing
people. 

The author uses a striking visual simile that
registers pure, unvarnished love. The poet compares the touching of the heads of the
horses to swans as they bow their heads toward each other forming a heart shape;
obviously, the horses love each other. Their loneliness appears boundless, yet when they
are together they are at home.

Changing to the auditory
senses, the ponies begin munching on little tufts of the spring grass. The slender pony
walks to him and nestles his nose in the poet's hand.  The narrator wishes that he could
hold her.  Black and white, her mane falls on her forehead wildly. Employing another
delightful simile, the softness of the horse’s ear feels as soft as the skin on a girl’s
wrist.

Shifting to the use of  the alliterative “b” sounds
of the last three line sequence ("body"--"break"--"blossom") gives an allusion of sound
to this process of spiritual regeneration. It seems as though the man will "pop" into
bloom.

The inexplicable joy of the moment delights the poet
because the experience is no longer just a metaphysical scene, but a revelation…he can
hardly contain his joy. He feels a part of the world and connected to the moment in
time.