The lines utilize a metaphor to compare green plantains and votive offerings, showcasing a direct comparison between the two objects.
The poetic device used in the excerpt from 'The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica' is a metaphor.
In the lines 'the heady mix of smells from the open bins of dried codfish, the green plantains hanging in stalks like votive offerings,' the comparison between the green plantains hanging in stalks and votive offerings is a metaphor. A metaphor directly compares two things by stating that one is the other, creating a vivid image for the reader without using 'like' or 'as' as in a simile.
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