Question
From blossoms comes
this brown paper bag of peaches
we bought from the boy
at the bend in the road where we turned toward
signs painted Peaches.
From laden boughs, from hands,
from sweet fellowship in the bins,
comes nectar at the roadside, succulent
peaches we devour, dusty skin and all,
comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat.
O, to take what we love inside,
to carry within us an orchard, to eat
not only the skin, but the shade,
not only the sugar, but the days, to hold
the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into
the round jubilance of peach.
There are days we live
as if death were nowhere
in the background; from joy
to joy to joy, from wing to wing,
from blossom to blossom to
impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom.
Li-Young Lee, "From Blossoms," from Rose. Copyright © 1986 by Li-Young Lee. Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd., www.boaeditions.org.
Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under theCC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Notes
AllDefinitionsFootnotes
loaded with something heavy, carrying a lot of weight
a main branch of a tree
Fellowship (noun) : the company of equals or friends
Succulent (adjective) : juicy flavor, full of juice
great joy, triumph, or satisfaction
Read Aloud
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Assessment Questions
Show Less
1
2
3
4
5
PART B: Which quote from the poem best supports the answer to Part A?
A. "From blossoms comes / this brown paper bag of peaches / we bought from the boy" (Lines 1-3)
B. "From laden boughs, from hands, / from sweet fellowship in the bins, / comes nectar at the roadside" (Lines 6-8)
C. "peaches we devour, dusty skin and all, / comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat." (Lines 9-10)
D. "to hold / the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into / the round jubilance of peach." (Lines 14-16)
this brown paper bag of peaches
we bought from the boy
at the bend in the road where we turned toward
signs painted Peaches.
From laden boughs, from hands,
from sweet fellowship in the bins,
comes nectar at the roadside, succulent
peaches we devour, dusty skin and all,
comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat.
O, to take what we love inside,
to carry within us an orchard, to eat
not only the skin, but the shade,
not only the sugar, but the days, to hold
the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into
the round jubilance of peach.
There are days we live
as if death were nowhere
in the background; from joy
to joy to joy, from wing to wing,
from blossom to blossom to
impossible blossom, to sweet impossible blossom.
Li-Young Lee, "From Blossoms," from Rose. Copyright © 1986 by Li-Young Lee. Used with the permission of The Permissions Company, Inc., on behalf of BOA Editions, Ltd., www.boaeditions.org.
Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under theCC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Notes
AllDefinitionsFootnotes
loaded with something heavy, carrying a lot of weight
a main branch of a tree
Fellowship (noun) : the company of equals or friends
Succulent (adjective) : juicy flavor, full of juice
great joy, triumph, or satisfaction
Read Aloud
Annotate
Translate
Assessment Questions
Show Less
1
2
3
4
5
PART B: Which quote from the poem best supports the answer to Part A?
A. "From blossoms comes / this brown paper bag of peaches / we bought from the boy" (Lines 1-3)
B. "From laden boughs, from hands, / from sweet fellowship in the bins, / comes nectar at the roadside" (Lines 6-8)
C. "peaches we devour, dusty skin and all, / comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat." (Lines 9-10)
D. "to hold / the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into / the round jubilance of peach." (Lines 14-16)
Answers
GPT-4o mini
To answer the assessment question, we first need to determine the main idea or theme from Part A.
The poem "From Blossoms" by Li-Young Lee centers around the joy and appreciation of life's simple pleasures, particularly the experience of eating peaches and the memories and sensations associated with them. It speaks to the idea of savoring not just the fruit itself but the entirety of the experience—its sweetness, the days of summer, and the joy inherent in such moments.
To find the quote that best supports this theme, let's analyze the provided options:
A. "From blossoms comes / this brown paper bag of peaches / we bought from the boy" (Lines 1-3)
- This quote introduces the peaches, suggesting a beautiful beginning but does not fully encapsulate the theme of appreciation.
B. "From laden boughs, from hands, / from sweet fellowship in the bins, / comes nectar at the roadside" (Lines 6-8)
- This quote emphasizes community and the journey of obtaining the peaches, but it still does not directly evoke the personal joy of the experience.
C. "peaches we devour, dusty skin and all, / comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat." (Lines 9-10)
- This quote relates to the physicality of consuming the peaches and brings in the sensory experience of summer, aligning closely with joy and appreciation.
D. "to hold / the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into / the round jubilance of peach." (Lines 14-16)
- This quote epitomizes the theme of savoring the experience, encapsulating joy, love, and the act of enjoying life’s simple pleasures.
Given this analysis, the quote that best supports the answer to the main theme of joy and appreciation in the poem is:
**D. "to hold / the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into / the round jubilance of peach." (Lines 14-16)**
The poem "From Blossoms" by Li-Young Lee centers around the joy and appreciation of life's simple pleasures, particularly the experience of eating peaches and the memories and sensations associated with them. It speaks to the idea of savoring not just the fruit itself but the entirety of the experience—its sweetness, the days of summer, and the joy inherent in such moments.
To find the quote that best supports this theme, let's analyze the provided options:
A. "From blossoms comes / this brown paper bag of peaches / we bought from the boy" (Lines 1-3)
- This quote introduces the peaches, suggesting a beautiful beginning but does not fully encapsulate the theme of appreciation.
B. "From laden boughs, from hands, / from sweet fellowship in the bins, / comes nectar at the roadside" (Lines 6-8)
- This quote emphasizes community and the journey of obtaining the peaches, but it still does not directly evoke the personal joy of the experience.
C. "peaches we devour, dusty skin and all, / comes the familiar dust of summer, dust we eat." (Lines 9-10)
- This quote relates to the physicality of consuming the peaches and brings in the sensory experience of summer, aligning closely with joy and appreciation.
D. "to hold / the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into / the round jubilance of peach." (Lines 14-16)
- This quote epitomizes the theme of savoring the experience, encapsulating joy, love, and the act of enjoying life’s simple pleasures.
Given this analysis, the quote that best supports the answer to the main theme of joy and appreciation in the poem is:
**D. "to hold / the fruit in our hands, adore it, then bite into / the round jubilance of peach." (Lines 14-16)**