In this alarming but inspiring poem entitled “The Moment” Margaret Atwood presents us with an adult speaker who reminds us that we are not the owners of this place we call home. Throughout the poem, Atwood ensures the reader that ownership has no value because everything that we “own” is a gift from mother nature which can be withdrawn at any time.

Atwood immediately establishes that at any point mother nature can withdraw itself from us as we are just visitors. Frost uses personification and tactile imagery to represent mother nature’s state of withdrawal from humanity. Atwood demonstrates this when she describes the moment that “the trees unloose their soft arms from around you.” (7) The poet continues the idea of natures withdrawal throughout the stanza. This shows natures perspective as a watching eye over humanity, as we destroy what is a gift to us. Atwood uses juxtaposition and dialogue to contrast this perspective of nature and our oblivious human view. Atwood uses dialogue when she writes “I own this” (6) This is the human saying that they own something while they stand and look at what they have. This represents how humanity believes that we have ownership of things, however what we “own” is given to us by nature and can be taken back at any time.

Throughout stanza 3, Atwood establishes that as humans we value ownership when it is meaningless, I think that this is a connection to how humans have acted throughout history. Atwood uses visual imagery to represent this. “You were a visitor, time after time climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming.” (14)(15) This represents how we value ownership and how we show ownership. Throughout history the act of climbing a hill and planting a flag shows that we have discovered and own something.

In conclusion, Atwood creates an alarming atmosphere and successfully uses various poetic techniques to convey the message that ownership is meaningless in the sense that we really do not own anything. Atwood also expresses how we should treat our earth as a gift because even though this is our home, it isn’t ours to destroy. “The moment” is a poem that makes the reader think and question their own actions as it leaves the reader re-thinking what they really value.