"Joy" by Molly McGinnis

The speaker is watching...

• the sunset

• the sunrise

• the stars come out

• a band perform

Which of the following describes the speaker?

• They miss the sunrise.

• They feel alone.

• They are enjoying the moment.

• They live in the past.

Which of the following identifies the main theme of the poem?

• There is nothing more powerful than the natural occurrences people witness every day.

• The modern world negatively impacts people’s experiences of the natural environment.

• It’s important to pay attention to life’s simple joys, as they quickly slip away.

• Simple joys are best experienced when a person doesn't try to understand them.

Which detail from the poem best supports the theme you selected?

• "Don't try / to figure it out. Step in too close and I want / to run away and be lonely forever." (Lines 3-5)

• “Sometimes the night is so warm it leaves thermal / imprints across my body, glowing like strokes / of bright plankton.” (Lines 9-11)

• “I have / only ever been held down by light. / That’s only half true. I have my sister, a black cat” (Lines 12-14)

• “Doctors, teachers, a Russian cosmonaut / who hangs from my ceiling, talking about the life / force of the moon.” (Lines 16-18)

How does the author’s word choice contribute to their depiction of the sunrise?

• It portrays the sunrise as sad, as the night is coming to an end.

• It emphasizes how radiant the sunrise is to the speaker.

• It stresses how fleeting the sunrise feels to the speaker.

• It compares the sunrise to a supernatural occurrence.

Which quote from the text best supports how the author’s word choice contributes to their depiction of the sunrise?

• "colors tilting off our scale of vision and splashing / up against a brilliant elsewhere" (Lines 2-3)

• “Did you see the meteor / showers over the foothills this morning?” (Lines 6-7)

• “Sometimes the night is so warm it leaves thermal / imprints across my body” (Lines 9-10)

• “No part / of my immediate past seems so alive / this evening” (Lines 18-20)