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I chose this poem because I like the moral teachings it gives. The subject of this poem talks about the difficulty in determining the right way. The persona of the poem gets rid of a doe’s carcass lying on the road. He considers it a threat to other drivers when driving hence, throws it in a canyon. As the persona removes it from the road, he realizes its stomach is warm. This means that the doe is pregnant and died recently. This thought saddens me because I realize how it is inhuman to kill animals unnecessarily. My value for life, especially for offspring cannot allow my conscience to take this lightly. Just like the poet, he does not show despair in the poem. This encourages me to be strong willed. The persona, doe and even the reader seem to be alone in the dark. There is a feeling of fear in the poem’s atmosphere. The death of an innocent doe symbolizes selfishness and no compassion to the defenseless animals. To me, it suggests that we are living in a world full of unjust practices.

The poem by William Stafford’s focuses mainly on choosing what is right   and preserving life where possible. It prompts us to be always ready to be fast decision makers, in circumstances that are least expected. Just like this man, when he encounters the dead doe, a lot runs through his mind. Eventually he decided to drag it near a river because of several reasons. In the first place, he intends to save the lives of other drivers, who might cause an accident because they are likely not to identify it from afar. It mostly applies to the careless drivers who decide to take alcohol and the drive. Another reason that made the persona do this noble action is because he wanted to save the life of the foetus inside the doe.

I am touched by this thought of the persona. He shows so much concern to the unborn as much as he knows for sure it was never going to survive, since its mother was dead. I like the idea of the poet of this poem. He suggests that some people get the chance to save life, but they do not because they feel it is not their responsibility. The poet also targets those that get or had certain opportunities, but do nothing at all. This poem lays emphasis on saving lives where possible. People should also learn to utilize opportunities when they come by. Some will not be so open for people to see them, they will be concealed. This means people should always be keen and attentive about what is going on around us.  .