... setting, I hear the leaves crackling in the distance and I look in my binoculars and see an enormous ten point buck coming my way. It stops ten yards away. I clumsily put an arrow on my bow and get the deer in my sights. My heart pounding, I can hardly remain still, but I must. The deer must not see or hear me. I exhale and make ... of as the jump from boy to manhood. The Indian used every conceivable part of the deer. They used the skin for clothing in the winter, meat for food, and heart as a good luck charm. They would use the bladder for children's play toys, and they would use the ...

• Word Count: 1370
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... the side of the road. Describing the doe this way helps picture what the speaker is witnessing. The poem appears to be harsh and abrupt, yet Stafford choses a doe over a buck. The doe gives this part of a poem a gentle feeling. The speaker then informs us that the dead deer was a "recent killing." The author's word choice is very significant ... the living. The lowered lights refer to sorrowful eyes that are looking ahead, avoiding the scene of the dead deer. The engine of the car can refer to beat of heart, the beat of the living. Ironically, when Stafford writes about the engine he us...

• Word Count: 2176
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School