Oh never try to knock on rotten wood / or play another card game when you've won
-- The Speaker (Lines 1-2)

Importance: This opening line becomes one of the poem’s refrains, and refers to the superstition of knocking on wood to ward off bad luck. This stems from the pagan practice of knocking on trees to encourage their spirits’ protection. The card game notably contains suggestions of vice and weakness, particularly as playing cards were once known as “the Devil’s picture book.” This moment suggests a downfall or descent born out of personal sin.

From here the moon seems smooth as angel-food / from here you can't see spots upon the sun
-- The Speaker (Lines 7-8)

Importance: This line references the traditionally American “angel food cake,” comparing it to a celestial body. This is the first of two mentions of angels in the poem, giving the poem a loosely biblical framework. It also uses anaphora (a literary device which uses...