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Exile

By George Elliot Clarke

for Kwame Dawes

Your scuttled pays floats—fiery—in the ether;
Blazing, it vomits smudge-smoke. Your mind chars
Black because you yaw—moth-like—too near flames.
You douse your dream-scorched brain with slave-sweat rum—
The only gold you can own, corroding
Your liver. Your anthem plays to gunfire.
When you think about it (when you can breathe)—
After all the lies that frame nostalgia,
All the dead faces that occupy photographs,
All the slain lovers pitched into ditches,
Your eyes itch and ache with water, then dry—
Curling like dead leaves, starving for gold fire.

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Famous-Poems-quiz

Famous Poems: 20 Multiple-Choice Questions

1 / 20

"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:"

- What is the next line of this sonnet?

2 / 20

"I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you."

- What is the title of this poem?

3 / 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"?

4 / 20

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

- What is the next line of this poem?

5 / 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?

6 / 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?

7 / 20

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

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

8 / 20

This coyness, lady, were no crime. 

We would sit down, 

and think which way To walk, 

and pass our long love's day."

 

- What is the title of this poem?

9 / 20

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" is a famous poem by T.S. Eliot. What is the next line of this poem after "Do I dare / Disturb the universe?"?

10 / 20

"The Odyssey" is a famous epic poem by Homer. What is the next line of this poem after "Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero"?

11 / 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." 

 

- Who is the author of this poem?

12 / 20

"The Moon" is a famous poem by Sappho. What is the next line of this poem after "But when you fail to meet me"?

13 / 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?

14 / 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?

15 / 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"?

16 / 20

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

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

17 / 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?

18 / 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?

19 / 20

"Sonnet 29" is a famous sonnet by William Shakespeare. What is the next line of this poem after "When, in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes,"?

20 / 20

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

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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 contains the same number of syllables?

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

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?

4 / 20

Which of the following poetic forms is characterized by alternating lines of iambic tetrameter and iambic trimeter, with a rhyme scheme of A-B-A-B?

5 / 20

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

6 / 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?

7 / 20

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

8 / 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?

9 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form in which the poem's shape on the page reflects its subject matter?

10 / 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?

11 / 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?

12 / 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?

13 / 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?

14 / 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?

15 / 20

What is the name of the poetic form consisting of a single line, typically with a specific syllable count or word limit, and often used to convey a strong emotion or idea?

16 / 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?

17 / 20

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

18 / 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?

19 / 20

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

20 / 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?

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The average score is 55%

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