Explain how the diction of "Building an Outhouse" contributes to the extended simile. Why is the language of building especially appropriate here?

Ronald Wallace's poem "Building an Outhouse" creates an
extended simile by comparing the construction of an outhouse to that of the construction
of a poem.

A poet needs to be concerned with the same
things that a builder needs to be concerned with. Wallace creates the simile by stating
the comparison in the first line:

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It is not unlike building a
poem

Wallace then goes into
the concerns that a builder would have when constructing an outhouse. The concerns lie
in the shape, the materials needed, and the tools needed to construct an outhouse. This
is comparable to the tools, shape, and material needed to construct a
poem.

If the shape of an outhouse is not correct, it can
throw off the balance of the structure. This is true of a poem as well. If a poem does
not have balance, it can throw off the underlying meaning for the
reader.

If the tools used to create an outhouse are broken
or wrong for the project, the building will suffer. Again, this is the same for a poem.
If the tools used (figurative language, form, or theme) are wrong for the poem, the poem
will suffer.

Lastly, if the materials needed to build the
outhouse are tainted or bad, the structure will be unable to withstand time. A poem is
typically written to survive- no author wishes to put out the mental and physical energy
in constructing a poem to have it collapse upon itself. The material needs to be able to
survive.

In the end, Wallace admits that only a good
outhouse and, therefore, a good poem are capable of lasting forever. He ends the poem
with the following line, begging critics to sit upon his
creation:

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Though the critics come sit on it, and sit on
it.

Wallace knows that any
text, or building, is subject to criticism. It is only through the use of good tools,
materials, and shape which allows a person to "sit on it".