Home
by Tina Tocco
The house was as still
as a cemetery

with gray shutters
and shingles
and stairs.

The windows' mouths
were painted shut,
so breath could neither enter
nor linger
nor leave.

The bedrooms were locked,
the cupboards were bare,
the carpet was gone. . .

And I shuddered like a child
in the dark,
asking once,
then again
and again

Why had I left?
Stayed away so long?
What had happened
in one short year?

Why does the author say "I shuddered like a child in the dark"?
A.
to show that the house had never been wired for electricity
B.
to show that the speaker wishes that she were still a child
C.
to show that the speaker is scared by what she has seen
D.
to show that there are still children present in the house
E.
to show that the house has been abandoned for a long time