Function of Metaphor: Poetry Practice Test

Read the following poem excerpt:

At midnight the kitchen is a museum of small noises:

the refrigerator hums, the faucet ticks, the house settles.

I stand barefoot on tile, rereading your last text.

Outside, a streetlamp pours its thin gold into the sink,

and my throat becomes a paper cup

creased by words I keep refilling.

Which choice best explains the function of the metaphor “a paper cup” in the poem?

Read the following poem excerpt:

The city bus kneels at each stop, exhaling,

and I ride it home with a bouquet of cheap chrysanthemums.

A toddler presses a fingerprint of jelly to the window;

a man sleeps with his mouth open to the ceiling.

In my lap, tomorrow is an unmailed letter

sealed with the taste of metal on my tongue.

Which choice best describes the function of the metaphor “an unmailed letter” in the poem?