1. Which statement expresses the main theme of the poem?
It used to feel too big
and mostly abandoned, leftover land between
neighboring cul-de-sacs and the elementary school.
Still, I would visit its few humble1 stations —
[5]the cracked stump by the fence always crawling
with ants. The narrow space behind the garage
lined with unused slate, just standing there
waiting for my parents’ hands. Then there was the shady dirt
under the old maple tree where I read, cradled or
[10]sinking between dying tentacle roots.
Was there ever any glory there? I can remember
a few humid evenings through the crack of the back door.
Twilight hanging like a velvet curtain, the thinning
pine trees at least only silhouettes.2
[15]My parents would be at the top of the empty hill
sitting at the rusty, wrought iron table, in an orb
of orange candlelight. I knew they were eating artichoke
with hot butter, scraping off the meat of the leaves with their teeth
and just casting the rest away.

It used to feel too big

and mostly abandoned, leftover land between

neighboring cul-de-sacs and the elementary school.

Explanation:

sentences vary by structure as well as by function. there are compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.

simple sentence

i like to read.

a simple sentence has one independent clause.

compound sentence

i like to read, and i also like to write.

a compound sentence includes more than one independent clause, connected by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or, so, or yet).

complex sentence

i prefer to read books that are bestsellers.

a complex sentence includes one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. (a dependent clause is one that cannot stand alone.) types of dependent clauses include relative clauses (i kicked the boy who pinched me), adverb clauses (i am going home now because i have a curfew), and noun clauses (i don't know what to do next).

compound-complex sentence

although i prefer to read current bestsellers, i do like to read old agatha christie mysteries, and i also like some 20th-century science fiction.

compound-complex sentences take a bunch of clauses (multiple independent clauses, and one or more dependent clauses) and toss them together like a salad. although these sentences take practice to write in a grammatically correct fashion, they can hold a tremendous amount of meaning, and are common in academic writing.