Question

An Outcast Waits

I walk like a palm tree from my apartment to school

I see kids who’ve nothing left to yearn for stare

Through the tinted windows of fancy cars

A loving parent with a disposable coffee cup waves at drop off



I walk like a dream from the parking lot to the door

I see kids who have friends from kindergarten giggle

With hands covering their mouths as they talk about me

A boy or a girl with half a heart shushes a crowd sometimes



I wait like spring deep inside the trunk of bare oaks

Scattered throughout the small town still new, never a home

I wait for a friend who will never sit at the lunch table

My mother who will come home when I am already asleep



I breathe like a hurricane downgraded to a breeze

And wait for the smooth floor of the gym for

One basketball hoop, one pair of worn-out sneakers

And one coach, the only one who sees, what I could be

Question

In line 9, what does the poet mean when she says, “like spring deep inside the trunk of bare oaks”?
Responses

A The speaker feels too deeply for a child.The speaker feels too deeply for a child.

B The speaker is patient but optimistic.The speaker is patient but optimistic.

C The speaker is greatly affected by the weather.The speaker is greatly affected by the weather.

D The speaker feels closer to nature than to people.The speaker feels closer to nature than to people.

Answer 1

B. The speaker is patient but optimistic.