Question
I would like to write a poem about the world that has in it
nothing fancy.
But it seems impossible.
Whatever the subject, the morning sun
glimmers it.
The tulip feels the heat and flaps its petals open and becomes a star.
The ants bore into the peony bud and there is a dark
pinprick well of sweetness.
As for the stones on the beach, forget it.
Each one could be set in gold.
So I tried with my eyes shut, but of course the birds
were singing.
And the aspen trees were shaking the sweetest music
out of their leaves.
And that was followed by, guess what, a momentous and
beautiful silence
as comes to all of us, in little earfuls, if we’re not too
hurried to hear it.
As for spiders, how the dew hangs in their webs
even if they say nothing, or seem to say nothing.
So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe they sing.
So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe the stars sing too,
and the ants, and the peonies, and the warm stones,
so happy to be where they are, on the beach, instead of being
locked up in gold.
From Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver, Published by Beacon Press Boston. Copyright © 2004 by Mary Oliver. Used herewith by permission of The Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency Inc.
Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under theCC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Notes
AllDefinitionsFootnotes
a type of flower
Momentous (adjective) : of great importance or significance
Read Aloud
Annotate
Translate
Assessment Questions
Show Less
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
PART A: In line 7, what does the phrase "bore into" mean?
A. dig a hole in
B. intensely stare at
C. quickly break apart
D. build small nests in
nothing fancy.
But it seems impossible.
Whatever the subject, the morning sun
glimmers it.
The tulip feels the heat and flaps its petals open and becomes a star.
The ants bore into the peony bud and there is a dark
pinprick well of sweetness.
As for the stones on the beach, forget it.
Each one could be set in gold.
So I tried with my eyes shut, but of course the birds
were singing.
And the aspen trees were shaking the sweetest music
out of their leaves.
And that was followed by, guess what, a momentous and
beautiful silence
as comes to all of us, in little earfuls, if we’re not too
hurried to hear it.
As for spiders, how the dew hangs in their webs
even if they say nothing, or seem to say nothing.
So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe they sing.
So fancy is the world, who knows, maybe the stars sing too,
and the ants, and the peonies, and the warm stones,
so happy to be where they are, on the beach, instead of being
locked up in gold.
From Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver, Published by Beacon Press Boston. Copyright © 2004 by Mary Oliver. Used herewith by permission of The Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency Inc.
Unless otherwise noted, this content is licensed under theCC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license
Notes
AllDefinitionsFootnotes
a type of flower
Momentous (adjective) : of great importance or significance
Read Aloud
Annotate
Translate
Assessment Questions
Show Less
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
PART A: In line 7, what does the phrase "bore into" mean?
A. dig a hole in
B. intensely stare at
C. quickly break apart
D. build small nests in
Answers
GPT-4o mini
In line 7, the phrase "bore into" means:
**A. dig a hole in**
This phrase suggests that the ants are digging into the peony bud to access the sweetness inside.
**A. dig a hole in**
This phrase suggests that the ants are digging into the peony bud to access the sweetness inside.