The Sacred Freedom and Confinement Quotes

In a sense, our needs are confining. In this case, it's a need "to speak." We have to use language in life, just like this poem has to use language to express itself. That can be confining, in a way, because there are things we feel and want to express that aren't easily captured in words. That's where the car comes in. It's like being stuck somewhere in the rain, and then, out of nowhere, a car pulls up and you're allowed to hop in and get whisked away. There's a certain freedom in finding this place—the private confines of a car can take you away from the "need," almost like a break from life where you get to quiet down, be alone, and become aware of how awesome being alive is.

It sure sounds like Dunn is talking about escape. He writes "the key / in having a key," as if the reader, the student, the speaker, and everyone could have access to this key and liberate themselves. Also, notice how the first line break of this stanza works in the poem? It makes it look like the key is "to speak, or to answer," yet the previous line of the poem talks about using the car to get far away from the need "to speak, or to answer." Using line breaks and stanzas allows Dunn the opportunity to create a paradoxical effect. In other words, "to speak, or to answer" is both the key that can lead to freedom, but also something confining that a "sacred place" can take you away from.