Poetry Precis #13: "Marcus Millsap: School Day Afternoon"

Dave Etter’s “Marcus Millsap: School Day Afternoon” utilizes a stream of consciousness and imagery to convey a childlike tone, sharing the exciting feeling of freedom that a child has when left home alone. Throughout the poem, the speaker constantly changes subjects and thinks to himself about everything that he plans to do with his freedom after school. Quotes like “What am I going to do when I get home?..” and “This weekend we're going to the farm show. I like roosters and pigs, but farming's no fun” shows how the speaker’s mind is rapidly changing and thinking about all the different things that he could possibly do with his freedom. Etter uses imagery to express a child’s joy of being free of rules and obligations. The child makes a sugar sandwich and goes outside to look at the birds and the giant silo, creating an image of the fun and adventure a child has when they have the freedom to do as they please. The poem culminates with the last line, when the child exclaims with pure bliss, that mother “is not coming home till dark!,” showing that he has no worries and is elated with the prospect of having an entire afternoon to himself. Etter is able to share the exciting feeling of freedom from a child’s perspective by using the stream of consciousness and imagery.