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WorksheetsPM #2 Boot Camp - Poetry
Total questions: 2
Worksheet time: 44mins
Say Thank You Say I'm Sorry
by Jericho Brown
Poetry, 2020
I don’t know whose side you’re on,
But I am here for the people
Who work in grocery stores that glow in the morning
And close down for deep cleaning at night
Right up the street and in cities I mispronounce,
In towns too tiny for my big black
Car to quit, and in every wide corner
Of Kansas where going to school means
At least one field trip
To a slaughterhouse. I want so little: another leather bound
Book, a gimlet with a lavender gin, bread
So good when I taste it I can tell you
How it’s made. I’d like us to rethink
What it is to be a nation. I’m in a mood about America
Today. I have PTSD
About the Lord. God save the people who work
In grocery stores. They know a bit of glamour
Is a lot of glamour. They know how much
It costs for the eldest of us to eat. Save
My loves and not my sentences. Before I see them,
I draw a mole near my left dimple, Add flair to the smile they can’t see
Behind my mask. I grin or lie or maybe
I wear the mouth of a beast. I eat wild animals
While some of us grow up knowing
What gnocchi is. The people who work at the grocery don’t care.
They say, Thank you. They say, Sorry,
We don’t sell motor oil anymore with a grief so thick
You could touch it. Go on. Touch it.
It is early. It is late.
They have washed their hands. They have washed their hands for you.
And they take the bus home.
Part A
Select an analysis of how the theme of honoring the dignity of everyday labor is developed in the text.
The speaker elevates grocery store workers by describing their routines with reverence.
The speaker ignores the workers and focuses on his own desires.
The speaker uses metaphor to mock the idea of labor.
The speaker blames workers for national decline.
Part B
Select evidence from the text that supports that analysis.
“Right up the street and in cities I mispronounce…”
“They have washed their hands for you.”
“I want so little: another leather bound book…”
“I eat wild animals…”
Which comparison best explains how the themes of honoring everyday labor and critiquing national identity are developed in the text?
The speaker praises workers while questioning what America truly values.
The speaker celebrates national pride through descriptions of wealth.
The speaker ignores labor and focuses on personal trauma.
The speaker uses humor to dismiss both themes.
Part A
Which idea is left unresolved within the poem?
Whether the speaker feels hopeful or hopeless about America
Whether the speaker believes grocery store workers are heroic
Whether the speaker regrets his own privilege
Whether the speaker is religious or anti-religious
Part B
Select a detail from the text that develops that ambiguity.
“I’m in a mood about America today.”
“God save the people who work in grocery stores.”
“They have washed their hands for you.”
“I want so little: another leather bound book…”
Which analysis best explains how Brown’s use of imagery develops the tone of the poem?
The vivid descriptions of grocery store routines create a tone of reverence and quiet admiration.
The speaker’s references to luxury items create a celebratory tone about consumerism.
The imagery of wild animals and motor oil creates a tone of confusion and detachment.
The speaker’s use of geographic references creates a tone of national pride.
from 'The Lost Letters of Frederick Douglass'
by Evie Shockley
Poetry, 2011
June 5, 1892
Dear Daughter,
Can you be fifty-three this
month? I still look for you to peek around
my door as if you’d discovered a toy
you thought gone for good, ready at my smile
to run up and press your fist into my
broken palm. But your own girls have outgrown
such games, and I cannot pilfer back time
I spent pursuing Freedom. Fair to you,
to your brothers, your mother? Hardly.
But
what other choice did I have? What sham,
what shabby love could I offer you, so
long as Thomas Auld held the law over
my head? And when the personal threat was
ended, whose eyes could mine enter without
shame, if turning toward my wife and children
meant turning my back?
Your mother’s eyes stare
out at me through yours, of late. You think I
didn’t love her, that my quick remarriage
makes a Gertrude of me, a corseted Hamlet of you.
You’re as wrong as you are
lucky. Had Anna Murray had your
education as a girl, my love for
her would have been as passionate as it
was grateful. But she died illiterate,
when I had risked my life to master language.
The pleasures of book and pen retain
the thrill of danger even now, and you
may understand why Ottilie Assing,
come into our house to translate me into
German, could command so many hours,
years, of my time—or, as you would likely
say, of your mother’s time.
Forgive me,
Rosetta, for broaching such indelicate
subjects, but as my eldest child and
only living daughter, I want you to
feel certain that Helen became the new
Mrs. Douglass because of what we shared
in sheaves of my papers: let no one
persuade you I coveted her skin.
I am not proud of how I husbanded
your mother all those years, but marriage,
too, is a peculiar institution.
I could not have stayed so unequally yoked
so long, without a kind of Freedom in
it. Anna accepted this, and I don’t
have to tell you that her lot was better
and she, happier, than if she’d squatted
with some other man in a mutual
ignorance.
Perhaps I will post, rather
than burn,
this letter, this time. I’ve written it
so often, right down to these closing lines,
in which I beg you to be kinder, much
kinder, to your step-mother. You two are
of an age to be sisters, and of like
temperament—under other circumstances,
you might have found Friendship in each other.
With regards to your husband—I am, as
ever, your loving father—
Frederick Douglass
How does the author use an appeal to pathos (emotion) to develop the idea of regret and reconciliation?
By describing his political achievements in detail
By recalling personal memories and expressing sorrow for lost time with his daughter
By quoting historical documents to justify his choices
By using humor to lighten the emotional tone
Select all analyses that explain how the author uses an appeal to logos (logic and reasoning) in the text.
Douglass uses logical reasoning to explain why he prioritized freedom over family.
He references the legal threat posed by Thomas Auld to justify his absence.
He uses statistics to support his argument.
He avoids logic and relies solely on emotional storytelling.
He contrasts Anna Murray’s illiteracy with his own literacy to explain emotional distance.
Part A
Which idea is left unresolved in the poem?
Whether Douglass regrets his public life
Whether reconciliation between father and daughter is possible
Whether Anna Murray was truly loved
Whether Helen was accepted by the family
Part B
Which line best supports that ambiguity or the unresolved idea?
“You’re as wrong as you are / lucky.”
“You might have found Friendship in each other.”
“I am not proud of how I husbanded / your mother…”
“I’ve written it / so often, right down to these closing lines…”
Which analysis best explains how the metaphor “broken palm” develops the emotional tone of the poem?
The metaphor suggests physical injury and evokes a tone of triumph over hardship.
The metaphor conveys emotional vulnerability and longing, contributing to a tone of regret and tenderness.
The metaphor implies strength and resilience, creating a tone of pride.
The metaphor reflects historical trauma, creating a tone of anger and defiance.
Which analysis best explains how the text develops the theme of the tension between public duty and personal relationships?
The speaker celebrates his public achievements and avoids discussing his family.
The speaker reflects on the time lost with his daughter due to his pursuit of freedom.
The speaker blames his family for distracting him from his mission.
The speaker uses humor to dismiss the impact of his choices.
Part A
What universal themes are present in the poem?
The celebration of personal sacrifice and historical triumph
The emotional cost of historical legacy and the complexity of forgiveness within families
The rejection of family ties in favor of justice
The joy of reconciliation and unity
Part B
Select a comparison of how those themes are developed.
The speaker uses historical references to elevate his legacy and dismiss emotional consequences.
The speaker reflects on his choices with sorrow and asks his daughter to reconsider her judgment.
The speaker avoids discussing his family and focuses on public achievements.
The speaker uses humor to resolve emotional tension.
