... of his own, and the first line of the poem suggests that he isn't happy about having to return home out of obligation as the oldest child. Instead, the line, "I sat all morning in the college sick bay/counting bells knelling classes to a close/at two o"clock our neighbors drove me home," suggests a feeling of impassiveness, almost annoyance that he has ... ...

• Word Count: 2322
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... poetic nature and sophistication of the narrator: The boy, crouched on his nail keg at the back of the crowded room, knew he smelled cheese, and more: form where he sat he could see that ranked shelves close-packed with the solid, squat, dynamic shapes of tin cans whose labels his stomach read, [ ] the smell and sense just a little fear because ... ...

• Word Count: 1767
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate