What do you think is the overall message that Burns communicates to his audience throughout his poem? In "To A Mouse"

The overall message of the poem "To a Mouse" is that we should focus on the present and not so much on the future.

Explanation:

When we read the speaker talking, we can see how his encounter with a mouse goes by. He thinks the mouse takes the lead just because of worrying about the present and not the future.

The poem also shows how to plan something for the future, however well it is planned it can go wrong.

In simple words, the narrator lives stressed and frustrated thinking about future plans, and the mouse lives peacefully in the present without so many worries.

600 dollars if i'm not mistaken.

well stockyards mean a large yard containing pens and sheds, typically adjacent to a slaughterhouse, in which livestock is kept and sorted. and i'm assuming that by party you   mean a large group of people which does make sense because chicago is a very crowded place much like new york. stockyards tend to take up a lot of room due to needing the area for pens to keep animals in and the fact that stockyards are usually right by slaughterhouse where they process and distribute the product. so its much like a zoo but with some dead animal products close by.