Poets usually use metaphors but also politicians, opinion-makers and rock singers.
Ok, now I'm giving you this hand out where there's a good example of poetic metaphor. Ten minutes of almost silent reading followed. A man comes to her and she begs him to be strong and delicate as a man should be so that they can start a new life. The carpet is a tool for change and the North wind is a metaphor of the coldness she experiences in her life, but together they will lead a life of love and joy, which is represented by the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The secret room represents her inner resources on which she will build a new existence.