How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Section.Page)
Quote #10
[…] and the fishermen had such adept thumbs, such grace/these people had, but what they envied most in them/was the calypso part, the Caribbean lilt/still in the shells of their ears, like the surf's rhythm,/until too much happiness was shadowed with guilt/like any Eden, and they sighed at the sign:/HEWANNORRA (Iounalao), the gold sea/flat as a credit-card, extending its line/to a beach that now looked just like everywhere else,/Greece or Hawaii. (XXXV.ii.229)
There's a constant struggle between the inherent worth of the people of St. Lucia and what is valued by the outside world—particularly tourists and corporations. It's the classic environmental dilemma: paving paradise to put up a cookie-cutter resort, so that wealthy patrons can avoid experiencing the real life of exotic locations.
Quote #11
[…] I was seeing the light of St. Lucia at last through her own eyes,/her blindness, her inward vision as revealing/as his, because a closing darkness brightens love,/and I felt every wound pass. (LVI.ii.282)
The narrator finally gets the gift of true vision as he leaves the shore with Omeros/Seven Seas to visit the Underworld. His love of the land allows him to see "her" for what she is—to see it with his inner eyes, which are focused by his connection to the place. His love for St. Lucia is heightened by his impending loss of it (remember that he's making a death-journey, even though he returns).
Quote #12
Her mountains tinkle with springs/among moss-bearded forests, and the screeching of birds/stitches its tapestry. The white egret makes rings/stalking its pools. African fishermen make boards/from trees as tall as their gods with their echoing/axes, and a volcano, stinking with sulphur,/has made it a healing place. (LVII.i.286-87)
The narrator speaks in praise of his island at the encouragement of Omeros, as they travel by sea to the afterlife. Although he feels surging love for his land, the narrator feels inadequate to speak of its beauty until prodded by the blind singer. Note that all points of admiration here are for the island's natural beauty and traditional ways.