Elegy with Apples, Pomegranates, Bees, Butterflies, Thorn Bushes, Oak, Pine, Warblers, Crows, Ants, And Worms

By Hayan Charara

The trees alongside the fence
bear fruit, the limbs and leaves speeches
to you and me. They promise to give the world
back to itself. The apple apologizes
for those whose hearts bear too much zest
for heaven, the pomegranate
for the change that did not come
soon enough. Every seed is a heart, every heart
a minefield, and the bees and butterflies
swarm the flowers on its grave.
The thorn bushes instruct us
to tell our sons and daughters
who carry sticks and stones
to mend their ways.
The oak tree says to eat
only fruits and vegetables;
the pine says to eat all the stirring things.
My neighbor left long ago and did not hear
any of this. In a big country
the leader warns the leader of a small country
there must be change or else.
Birds are the same way, coming and going,
wobbling thin branches.
The warblers express pain, the crows regret,
or is it the other way around?
The mantra today is the same as yesterday.
We must become different.
The plants must, the animals,
and the ants and worms, just like the carmakers,
the soap makers before them,
and the manufacturers of rubber
and the sellers of tea, tobacco, and salt.
Such an ancient habit, making ourselves new.
My neighbor looks like my mother
who left a long time ago
and did not hear any of this.
Just for a minute, give her back to me,
before she died, kneeling
in the dirt under the sun, calling me darling
in Arabic, which no one has since.

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Famous-Poems-quiz

Famous Poems: 20 Multiple-Choice Questions

1 / 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?

2 / 20

"Because I could not stop for Death - He kindly stopped for me -"

- What is the next line of this poem?

3 / 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?

4 / 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."

 

 - Who is the author of this poem?

5 / 20

"Tis better to have loved and lost Than never to have loved at all."

 

- Who is the author of this poem?

6 / 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"?

7 / 20

"i carry your heart with me" is a famous poem by E.E. Cummings. What is the next line of this poem after "i carry your heart with me(i carry it in"?

8 / 20

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

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

9 / 20

"Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day;" - What is the next line of this poem by Dylan Thomas?

10 / 20

"For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, 

They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude." 

 

- Who is the author of this poem?

11 / 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"?

12 / 20

"The Second Coming" is a famous poem by William Butler Yeats. What is the next line of this poem after "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold"?

13 / 20

"I wandered lonely as a cloud, 

That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 

When all at once I saw a crowd, 

A host, of golden daffodils."

 

 - What is the title of this poem?

14 / 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"?

15 / 20

"Two roads diverged in a wood, 

and I - I took the one less travelled by, 

And that has made all the difference." 

 

- Who is the author of this poem?

16 / 20

"O Captain! My Captain! 

our fearful trip is done, 

The ship has weathered every rack, 

the prize we sought is won."

 

 - Who is the author of this poem?

17 / 20

"It was many and many a year ago, In a kingdom by the sea, That a maiden there lived whom you may know By the name of Annabel Lee."

- Who is the author of this poem?

18 / 20

"I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;" - What is the next line of this poem by T.S. Eliot?

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

"Paradise Lost" is a famous epic poem by John Milton. What is the next line of this poem after "Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit"?

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Forms-Of-Poetry-Quiz

Forms Of Poetry: 20 Multiple-Choice Questions

1 / 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?

2 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms is characterized by three stanzas of three lines each and a final quatrain?

3 / 20

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

4 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms is characterized by a repeated refrain, alternating with a series of quatrains, with a final quatrain as a coda?

5 / 20

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

6 / 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?

7 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms consists of a three-line stanza, with a syllable count of 5-7-5, but also includes a two-line stanza at the end, with a syllable count of 7-7?

8 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms is characterized by three-line stanzas, with the second line repeating as the last line of the previous stanza?

9 / 20

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

10 / 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?

11 / 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?

12 / 20

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

13 / 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?

14 / 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?

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

What is the name of the poetic form consisting of two lines, with the first line asking a question and the second line providing an answer?

17 / 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?

18 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form consisting of a series of unrhymed tercets followed by a quatrain, with the same end words used throughout the poem in a specific pattern?

19 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form consisting of a six-line stanza, with a rhyme scheme of A-A-B-B-C-C and a syllable count of 8-8-5-5-8-8?

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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