Are you ready to die? What would you do if you or a loved one were to die tomorrow, or 5 minutes from now? The poem "Auto Wreck" raises this question that none of us like to think about, but is a very true aspect of life. Life can be taken away at any moment for no reason at all.
The author uses metaphors to give the reader a better interpretation of the actual scene of the accident looks. It gives a eerily clear picture of what it looks like. "And down the dark one ruby flare, Pulsing out red light like an artery." This part of the poem, in the beginning contrasts the light coming from the ambulance to the blood of the pulsing artery. "The ambulance at top speed floating down". This gives the picture that even though accidents happen in a split second the afterthought and the scene of an accident is slow. Everything slows down for whoever is affected by the accident, whether it be the people who were involved or the passers by. The ambulance floating down represents time slowing. "Wings in a heavy curve, clips down" represents the same idea. People going along with everyday like with their "wings" are clipped and they slow down to see the accident sight. "The doors leap open, emptying light" is a metaphor that gives the impression of police cars and ambulance drivers are in a hurry. They are throwing open the doors of their vehicles trying to do something about the accident. Also it gives the impression that there is not a lot of light in the area of the accident. The emptying light signifies this. "One hangs lanterns on the wrecks that cling, Empty husks of locusts,, to iron poles". This metaphor tells us a story of locusts clinging to a grassy field, yet this is not a jungle that is green like a person would usually find. This is a very dark "jungle" that has a metal figure in it, that being the auto wreck. "Our throats were tight as tourniquets" is a metaphor saying that the people around the accident couldn't say anything.