The Midnight News by Jon Caswell Say good-bye to the pupfish He's gone and hardly missed; No one knows why he deserves it. He just no longer exists Without knowing the pupfish at all He is gone and surely forgotten: No fins waving in the current, His bubbly breath stamped forbidden The fish-counting scientist insisted There were no survivors. But of what were there no survivors? Our tollets fushed into their living rooms? Fish-counting divers? Say good-bye to the fishpup. Ignoble and scaly dish That lived into the twentieth century When men couldn't talk to fish. In the way we think about Nature, It's just another kink. Someone-pupfish, man or eagle- Has to become extinct. 3 Which line from the poem most clearly expresses its theme that human activity causes animals to become extinct? A. "When men couldn't talk to fish B. There were no survivors" C. "No one knows why he deserves it" D. "He is gone and surely forgotten

## Step 1<br />The theme of a poem is the central idea or message that the poet wants to convey. In this case, the theme is that human activity causes animals to become extinct. <br /><br />## Step 2<br />We need to identify the line that most clearly expresses this theme. <br /><br />## Step 3<br />Option A, "When men couldn't talk to fish", is a metaphorical statement that suggests a lack of communication or understanding between humans and nature. This line implies that humans have caused the extinction of the pupfish due to their inability to communicate with them.<br /><br />## Step 4<br />Option B, "There were no survivors", is a statement of fact about the extinction of the pupfish, but it does not directly link this extinction to human activity.<br /><br />## Step 5<br />Option C, "No one knows why he deserves it", is a statement of mystery or confusion about the extinction of the pupfish, but it does not directly link this extinction to human activity.<br /><br />## Step 6<br />Option D, "He is gone and surely forgotten", is a statement of the extinction of the pupfish, but it does not directly link this extinction to human activity.