by c.safos
The man who cuts our school's lawn
moves on his mower like a hermit crab
dragging a shell.
He also tends to the fruit trees
like a watchmaker keeping time.
He circles the apple tree twice.
The apples surround its trunk like dreams.
When he picks them from the ground, he looks
to see if anyone saw one find its way to his jacket.
His coat could hide away a whole orchard.
I want to tell him, "I really love your apples,"
but he can't know what things I've seen.
15
What does the poet mean by "his coat could hide away a whole orchard"?
A.
He has multiple apples in his coat.
B.
He wore the coat to hide apples.
C.
He has taken apples from the tree before.
D.
He is wearing a large coat.
1 answer
The line "his coat could hide away a whole orchard" suggests that the man's coat is very large and capable of concealing many apples. Therefore, the most fitting interpretation is:
D. He is wearing a large coat.
While options A and C might seem relevant, they imply actions rather than describing the size of the coat itself, which is the primary focus of that line.
