The Poem That Will Not End

1. On page 158, what does the word careening mean as it is used in the poem? (Use your context clues) My brain went into overdrive, I started writing faster, careening wild at breakneck speed-- a poetry disaster.

• talking loudly
• moving swiftly
• wishing earnestly
• thinking seriously

2. What does the reader learn about the narrator in the first three stanzas? It started with a rhythm, a rhythm and a rhyme. It wouldn't let me stop, it ate up all my time.

• He is hungry.
• He drums all the time.
• He learns how to clap.
• He has been seized by rhythm.

3. What does the boy most likely mean when he writes that he has been “captured”? (Page 152, poem titled Captured)

• He cannot leave school until he writes a poem.
• He cannot go outdoors while it is raining so hard.
• He cannot stop writing poetry although he wants to.
• He cannot flee the cafeteria before he cleans the table.

4. How does the narrator most likely feel toward the end of the poem when he goes to school? (page 161)

• He is worried his classmates will not like his poetry.
• He is disappointed that he forgot to write a poem.
• He is tired from writing poetry all night.
• He is eager to write a poem.

5. What happens at the end of the poem? (page 162)

• Ms. Frost asks the kids to write a poem, but the narrator cannot think of anything to write.
• Ms. Frost wants the kids to write about spring, but the narrator asks to write about winter.
• Students in the class ask the narrator to help them write poems.
• The narrator writes a poem on his bathroom mirror.

6. Look at the illustration on page 163. How do you think Ryan is feeling?

• Excited
• Content
• Upset
• Angry

7. What is the lesson, or theme, the poet wants to convey in this poem?

• The inspiration to write is powerful, but it comes and goes.
• Writing poetry is difficult and exhausting.
• Poetry is easy to write and never goes away.
• Poetry is the greatest of all literature.

8. The poem on titled PEAS on page 156. Is this poem free verse or rhymed poetry?

• Free verse poetry
• Rhymed poetry

9. The poem on page 157, titled Conductor. Is this poem free verse or rhymed poetry?

• Free verse poetry
• Rhymed poetry

10. What genre is The Poem That Will Not End?

• Drama
• Poetry
• Historical
• Informational