Durban, South Africa—Some Notations Of Value

By Chris Abani

Metal giraffes march up the bluff
toward the lighthouse. In the moonlight,
whales, or their ghosts, litter the sand.

There is a museum by the park that houses
apartheid; contained in stiff wax dummies.

The tour bus stops on the road’s edge.
On the right a black town, the left Indian.
Pointing he says: This is the racial divide.

Stopping at the bar, the drink menu offers—
Red’s Divas only five rand each.

Each night the pounding sea reminds me
that, here, women are older than God.

These people carry their dead with them,
plastering them onto every met face.

Yet love hums like tuning forks
and the fading spreading sound
is the growth of something more.

Their absence is loud and I long
for the confetti flutter of butterflies.

Abattoirs litter the landscape with the sinister
air of murder, signs proclaiming: Zumba Butchery,
as though this is where the Zumba’s blood-
lust got the better of them.

The air conditioner in my room hums
a dirge to a sea too busy spreading rumors.

Death skips between street children
playing hopscotch in the traffic.

The woman singing in Zulu, in a Jamaican bar,
is calling down fire, calling down fire.
There is no contradiction.

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Famous-Poems-quiz

Famous Poems: 20 Multiple-Choice Questions

1 / 20

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by,"

- What is the next line of this poem by Robert Frost?

2 / 20

"Daddy" is a famous poem by Sylvia Plath. What is the next line of this poem after "You do not do, you do not do / Any more, black shoe"?

3 / 20

"Because I could not stop for Death – 

He kindly stopped for me – 

The Carriage held but just Ourselves – 

And Immortality." 

 

- What is the title of this poem?

 

 - Who is the author of this poem?

4 / 20

"I, too, sing America. I am the darker brother."

- What is the next line of this poem by Langston Hughes?

5 / 20

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And summer's lease hath all too short a date." 

- What is the title of this poem?

6 / 20

"The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on."

- Who is the author of this poem?

7 / 20

"Poetry" is a famous poem by Pablo Neruda. What is the next line of this poem after "And it was at that age... Poetry arrived"?

8 / 20

"The End and the Beginning" is a famous poem by Wislawa Szymborska. What is the next line of this poem after "After every war / someone has to clean up"?

9 / 20

"A Contribution to Statistics" is a famous poem by Wislawa Szymborska. What is the next line of this poem after "Out of a hundred people"?

10 / 20

"And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep."

 

 - What is the title of this poem?

11 / 20

"A thing of beauty is a joy forever: Its loveliness increases; it will never Pass into nothingness; but still will keep A bower quiet for us, and a sleep Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing."

 - What is the title of this poem?

12 / 20

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep, 

But I have promises to keep, 

And miles to go before I sleep, 

And miles to go before I sleep."

 

 - What is the title of this poem?

13 / 20

"Still I Rise" is a famous poem by Maya Angelou. What is the next line of this poem after "You may shoot me with your words"?

14 / 20

"Tyger Tyger, burning bright, In the forests of the night;"

- What is the next line of this poem by William Blake?

15 / 20

"Oh, my luve is like a red, red rose, That's newly sprung in June: Oh, my luve is like the melodie, That's sweetly play'd in tune."

- What is the title of this poem?

16 / 20

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" is a famous sonnet by William Shakespeare. What is the next line of this poem after "Thou art more lovely and more temperate:"?

17 / 20

"We real cool. We left school. We lurk late."

- What is the next line of this poem by Gwendolyn Brooks?

18 / 20

"Ode to a Nightingale" is a famous poem by John Keats. What is the next line of this poem after "My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains"?

19 / 20

"The Sun Rising" is a famous poem by John Donne. What is the next line of this poem after "Busy old fool, unruly Sun, / Why dost thou thus"?

20 / 20

"Because I could not be with you, I will write across the page the words I was too afraid to speak, I was too afraid to stay, I was too afraid to leave."

 

- What is the title of this poem?

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Forms-Of-Poetry-Quiz

Forms Of Poetry: 20 Multiple-Choice Questions

1 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form in which each line or stanza repeats the same sequence of words, but in reverse order?

2 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms consists of a series of six-line stanzas, with a specific rhyme scheme and the repetition of certain end words throughout the poem?

3 / 20

What is the name for a poetic form consisting of 14 lines with a specific rhyme scheme and meter?

4 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form consisting of four-line stanzas, with a rhyme scheme of ABAB, typically used to express love or praise?

5 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms is characterized by a poem that describes or meditates on the natural world, often using vivid imagery and sensory language?

6 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms originated in ancient Greece and typically consists of a long narrative poem about heroic deeds?

7 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms is characterized by a five-line stanza with a syllable count of 2-4-6-8-2, and typically contains a humorous or witty twist at the end?

8 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables?

9 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form in which two rhyming lines of iambic pentameter are followed by a rhyming line of iambic tetrameter?

10 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form in which a single poem is created by combining lines from multiple different poems, typically by different authors?

11 / 20

Which of the following is NOT a form of Japanese poetry?

12 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form that uses the repetition of a single word or phrase at the end of each line, and can be as short as three lines or as long as multiple stanzas?

13 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form in which a speaker addresses someone or something that is absent or not able to respond?

14 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms is characterized by a series of eight-line stanzas, with a rhyme scheme of A-B-A-B-B-C-B-C?

15 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form that originated in ancient Arabic poetry, consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, typically used to express love or melancholy?

16 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms originated in Italy?

17 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form in which each line contains the same number of syllables?

18 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms is characterized by a poem that tells a story through a series of quatrains, with a rhyme scheme of ABAB?

19 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form in which the first letter of each line spells out a word or phrase?

20 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms is characterized by three-line stanzas, with a syllable count of 5-7-5 and a seasonal reference?

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