Final answer:
The best description of the tone of stanza 2 in “On Turning Ten” is likely ‘gloomy,’ reflecting the sadness and nostalgia for lost childhood.
Step-by-step explanation:
The second stanza of the poem “On Turning Ten” by Billy Collins typically conveys a gloomy and melancholic tone. The poem is about the realization and sadness that accompanies growing up. The narrator is reflecting on the end of childhood and the onset of double digits, which symbolizes the beginning of adolescence and the loss of childish innocence. While the exact content of the second stanza is not provided, the overall poem suggests a wistful, nostalgic, and perhaps somewhat sorrowful tone about the passage of time and the changes that come with turning ten years old. In this context, choice D) gloomy would be the best description of the tone.