Earth Paired Poems

NAME: DATE:

I Am of the Earth Anna Lee Walters I am of the earth She is my mother She bore me with pride She reared me with love 5     She cradled me each evening She pushed the wind to make it sing She built me a house of harmonious colors She fed me fruits of her fields She rewarded me with memories of her smiles 10    She punished me with the passing of time And at last, when I long to leave She will embrace me for eternity

Early Song Gogisgi/Carroll Arnett As the sun rises high enough to warm the frost off the pine needles, 5     I rise to make four prayers of thanksgiving for this fine clear day, for this good brown 10    earth, for all brothers and sisters, For the dark blood that runs through me in a great circle 15    back into this good brown earth.

  

1.  In “I Am of the Earth”, which are lines that personify the earth?

Line 1

Line 5

Line 11

Line 10

Line 4

2.  In the first poem, what could be an interpretation of line 9?

A   the darkness of night

B   an earthquake or tsunami

C   the beauty found in nature

D   the destruction of man

3.  The reader can conclude that the last two lines of “I Am of the Earth” refer

to- -

A   death

B   night

C   evil

D   motherhood

4.  Which are synonyms of the word harmonious as it is used in the first poem?

compatible	unified	harsh
dissonant	balanced	discordant

5.  Which line from “Early Song” helps the reader visualize the setting?

A   “in a great circle”

B   “brothers and sisters”

C   “I rise to make”

D   “As the sun rises”

6.  What does the poet refer to in the last stanza of the second poem?

A   happiness and sadness

B   life and death

C   day and night

D   wind and water

7.  In line 7, the poet uses the word thanksgiving to refer to- -

A   the provision of medicine

B   the act of blessing

C   the act of giving thanks

D   the celebrated holiday

8.  Which statement conveys a similarity shared by both poems?

A   the earth is an important part of life

B   the earth is compared to a loving mother

C   the earth is described as very beautiful

D   the earth is the home of many different people