"Hitting brakes i anticipate a squirrel or cat or sometimes
a little raccoon
I once braked for a blind little mole who try though he did could not escape the cat toying with his life
Mother to be possum occasionally lopes home ... being
naturally ... slow her condition makes her even ginger"
Setting
The words "morning fog", "driveway", and "eerie glow" show that the poem takes place early in the morning when the sun hasn't come up yet in the narrator's driveway
"Backing out of the driveway
the car lights cast an eerie glow
in the morning fog centering
on movement in rain slick street"
"rain slick street" shows that the speaker is being extra cautious while driving their car
Factual Question
What is the person doing in the morning ?
Form
Free verse poem
Voice
The person speaking is someone driving their car and backing out of their driveway
Tone
The narrator of the poem is speaking softly
Characterization
The speaker saying that there should be a "Possum Crossing" sign shows that worries about animals being killed by the "coffee gurgling neighbors"
"We need a sign Possum Crossing to warn coffee-gurgling
neighbors:
We share the streets with more than trucks and vans and
railroad crossings"
Inductive Question
Who/What do we share the streets with?
Big Question
How are humans being harmful to animals?
Metaphor & Symbolism
This is a metaphor meaning that the little mole was killed by the "cat toying with his life" which symbolizes a car
Analytical Question
How does this line relate to The Great Gatsby?
Visual Imagery
The possum "lopes" home which means to move slowly with very easy strides
"I hit brakes for the flutter of the lights hoping it's not a deer
or a skunk or a groundhog
coffee splashes over the cup which i quickly put away from me
and into the empty passenger seat
I look ...
relieved and exasperated ...
to discover i have just missed a big wet leaf
struggling ... to lift itself into the wind
and live"
These lines show that the driver is more worried about the animal than the coffee that just splashed in their car
Personification
The speaker says the leaf is struggling to "lift itself into the wind and live" which is giving the big wet leaf animal like characteristics
"All birds being the living kin of dinosaurs
think themselves invincible and pay no heed
to the rolling wheels while they dine
on an unlucky rabbit"
This stanza means that because birds can fly they think that they cannot be harmed by the "rolling wheels" which means cars