Read the poem and answer the following question
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore—
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over—
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
According to the poet, what is the fate of such deferred dreams?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
A discarded dream does not simply vanish, rather, it undergoes an evolution, approaching a physical state of decay.