I found her dancing like a leaf

And singing like a bird.

• She is dancing and singing as if she is one with nature

• She is growing wings and dropping leaves

• She represents the ecosystem's tree that supports birds and leaves

• The bird made of leaves is singing beautifully

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

Old heartbreaks are old wine.

Too new to pour is mine

• The speaker has just broken up with someone

• The speaker wishes he was old

• The speaker broke an old person's heart

• Heartbreaks from old people are more tragic

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5A

CCSS.L.5.5A

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

That night from a dingy hotel room,
 I saw the moon, like a golden gong,
 Readily loom
 Across the lake;

• The speaker is in a bad hotel, but he appreciates the nature outside

• The bad hotel makes him wish he was outside

• The beautiful nature detracts from his hotel room

• The moon looms menacingly over the speaker

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

My heart is a little painted poem.

• The speaker's emotions are complicated, like art

• The speaker enjoys painting and poetry

• The speaker is having a heart attack

• The speaker needs to find something they enjoy

Tags

CCSS.L.4.5A

CCSS.L.5.5A

CCSS.RL.5.4

CCSS.W.11-12.2D

Piercing my poor brain
 With beauty, a fiery dart.

• The speaker is shocked by something beautiful

• The speaker is having a bad day

• The speaker's brain can't comprehend fire

• The darts of someone's beauty make the speaker poor

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

The wet wind hums its colorless refrain;

• The damp weather is dreary

• The rain storm is singing loudly

• The wind has stripped all color from the scene

• The wind is humming a nice tune

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

Lemonade and ice cream,

Sitting poolside on an endless summer day.

• The speaker longs for the joys of summer

• The speaker is a glass of lemonade or a bowl of ice cream

• Summers are hot, and the lemonade is hotter

• The pool is enjoyable to the speaker, but ice cream is better

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

I wish there were some wonderful place

Where all our mistakes and all our heartaches, could be

Dropped, like a shabby old coat, at the door, and never put on again.

• The speaker wants their bad memories to vanish

• The speaker wants to move somewhere without a coat rack

• The speaker regrets his actions

• The speaker longs for his mistakes to be judged

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4

But on this line alone, the poet has toiled a million years or more.

• The poet took a long time on a single line

• The poet is immortal

• Poetry has been around for millions of years

• The line made the poet give up

Tags

CCSS.L.11-12.5A

Weeds climb about the stoop

And clutch the crumbling walls;

The drowsy grasses droop--

The night wind falls.

• Weeds find life where other life cannot

• The ruins of civilization will outlast the plants themselves

• Ruins are great spots for gardens

• The night wind kills plants and walls

Tags

CCSS.L.3.5A

CCSS.RL.3.4