How Text Reveals Character: Poetry Practice Test

Read the following poem:

"At the Open House"

I arrive early, as always,

so my shoes can learn the hallway.

The teacher’s desk is a small country

ruled by paperclips and sharpened pencils.

My son’s name sits on a cubby

in letters I practiced at home,

as if my hand could tutor his future.

Other parents lean in bright clusters,

laughing like they belong to daylight.

I read the posters twice,

pretend I am deciding which one I like.

When the teacher says, “Any questions?”

my mouth fills with pennies.

I nod, grateful for the nod’s silence,

then smooth my coat as if it were him.

Which inference about the speaker is best supported by the line “my mouth fills with pennies”?

Read the following poem:

"Voice Mail"

Your message arrives at 2:13 a.m.,

a thin blue light in my palm.

You say my name the old way,

round as a coin you used to flip.

Behind your words I hear dishes,

a television laughing at something.

You ask if I’m eating enough.

I stare at the ceiling fan

turning its slow, indifferent weather.

I could call back.

Instead I delete the message,

then keep the phone in my hand

like a stone I’m learning to skip.

Which inference about the speaker is best supported by “I delete the message, / then keep the phone in my hand”?