Summary

In the first stanza, the speaker remarks on the dirty appearance of a family-owned gas station. Oil soaks and permeates everything, creating a "black translucency" (5). The speaker issues a warning to be careful using matches at this gas station.

The second stanza is a description of the family members working at the gas station. The father wears a "dirty, / oil-soaked monkey suit," meaning that it does not fit him right (7-8). The man's sons work with him, and they too wear dirty clothes. The speaker describes the sons as being "quick and saucy / and greasy" (10-11). The number of sons remains unspecified.

The speaker begins issuing questions in the third stanza. She wonders whether the father and sons live in the station. This question is prompted by the existence of a cement porch behind the gas pumps. Wicker furniture fills the porch, and a...