All the doors must have their way/and every break of day its day/instead of a soul/Jackself as a coal/and the High Fireman to pay.
-- Speaker (Pages 1 - 12)

Importance: This stanza is significant because it is an example of the overall tonal quality of the book and Polley’s ability to meld a childlike voice with dark and melancholy themes. Written in the form of a limerick, these lines leave the reader with the metrical impression of a nursery rhyme while at the same time imparting a sense of darkness and conflict, such as the equating of Jackself’s soul to a coal. As a result, Polley displays here his ability to address the emotional complexities of childhood through voice.

Whose small memory is a gift that makes/the world over again/when he wakes.
-- Speaker (Pages 1 - 12)

Importance: These lines encapsulate one of the major themes of the collection, which is the process of...