At the tip Alliteration
of the chameleon's tongue Moves slowly along the branches Simile
there is a pot of boiling ‘like a trapeze artist’ Oxymoron
glue to cook ies for breakfast. Onomatopoeia
before he sets o Personi cation
on a slow tightrope walk Reinforces the idea of of slow movement in the next stanza by
like a trapeze artist. describing how a snail moves about on its own
Under the belly of every snail
lies a tankful of low-octane petrol Implies that the snail doesn’t really move fast.
to propel the miniscule engine
to the destination of a juicy cabbage leaf.
It is overtaken. Flatten so many snails that they they look like confetti
by American mechanical monsters, lying on the road
drunk with gallons of gasoline,
that leave highways strewn
with gory confetti of corpses. Brings reader attention to car accident
The loud Bang!
brings brawny farmers
running from homesteads to render help.
From beehive huts tumble black bumpkins
to gawk at twisted wrecks coated with fresh blood
amid cries of 'Help!'
Ambulances sound shrill sirens,
tearing the silky shawl of the night's silence.
O! speed end
whose knell has sounded, Admonishing him to be guided by the next example set by the safe
look at the snail sleeping snale and chameleon
slumbering
in his shell.
See the chameleon
cosy under her quilted coat.
