Elaina,

Shel Silverstien doesn't live here (or anywhere).

Too often over the years I've received email from students who conducted a search and landed on my address as a scholar of any number of subjects, but who were unwilling to take the same amount of energy to do their own thinking for their homework assignment. I speak for myself, not other Mudcatters, though I'd wager that several of them have had similar experiences with random messages from students asking for detailed answers.

The nature of the request, formulated in the current misspelled techno-speak of instant messagers, posted quickly with a short request and few requirements except that it get done, looks to me like someone hastily posting messages in various places, not expending much time because they know the request is impertinent, thus liable to be ignored, but hoping to get lucky nonetheless.

This is the kind of request that must be handed back unfulfilled to the student--it's your homework, and you're expected to do this thinking for yourself. Don't write to total strangers and expect them to regurgitate information that you will then slap your name on and turn in for credit. It's as easy to do a search on Silverstein and get enough clues from essays online as it is to find Mudcat. It takes even less time to simply pick a poem you like, read it over a few times, then decide what it means to you. Discuss.

Good luck getting that assignment finished on your own.

SRS