The Moose

Though the moose does not show up until two-thirds of the way into the poem, it is the most prominent symbol, hence the title of the poem. The moose represents nature and its separateness from humanity. The moose’s unexpected and startling appearance conveys how humans can sometimes forget that they are part of a much larger natural world. While riding along in the bus, the passengers are insulated from nature—they observe it and even admire it in places, but the steel walls of the bus create a clear delineation between the representatives of civilization that ride within it and the natural world they are traveling through. The human speaker finds the woods “impenetrable” (Line 134), but the moose has traversed them easily enough to stand in the road and stop the bus. While the passengers look on in awe, the moose simply goes about its business. Though the bus is man-made, it and the humans within it are transient features. The bus is in the moose’s home. The moose and its ability to stop the bus and command the attention of all aboard with its “[t]owering” (Line 139) presence symbolizes the power and ubiquitousness of nature.