In the poem “To be of Use” Marge Piercy uses figurative language to show the readers how she feels about hardworks. The figurative language helps compare the water buffalo to the hard workers. In line 9 and 10, Piercy uses a simile when she says “Who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience/ who strain in the mud and muck to move things forward.” By comparing the water buffalo to hard workers it shows that when hard workers have to push through tough obstacles or things that might prevent them from getting the job done, they still find a way to overcome the problem and finish the job. In addition, Piercy uses metaphors to explain how hard they work. In lines 1 and 2 Piercy says, “The people I love best/ jump into work head first,” The