Poem: A Fighter’s Lines 

I am old and wornand have lost all my strength

sufferingsand the history of the fight for independence

have forced sacrificesthat know no name

or life 

from the wheelchair of the rest of my daysI, body and energy crushed

see and cannot do muchthese times are too big a challenge

for the remnants of my crippled yearsthe net of deceit spread everywhere

disturbs me 

In the name of justiceWake up and form ranks sons of our ancestor

Be braveAnd erect a wall of people

Stand up heirs of our freedom 

I have no more voiceIt is you now who should speak!

Marzuki Ali

a. Who is the persona of the poem? (1m)_____________________________________________

b. Write two themes that can be found in the poem. (2m)________________________________________________________________________________________________

c. What is the mood of the poem? (1m)__________________________________________________

d. Why is the persona telling the young generation to stand up for their freedom?____________________________________________________

e. What has the persona done for his country? (1m)____________________________________________________

f. From stanza 1, give one phrase that show the persona is not a young person. (1m)____________________________________________________

g. From stanza 2, what does the persona worry about? (1m)____________________________________________________

h. If the persona were your grandfather, would you do as he asks in the poem? Give reasons to justify your choice. (2m)________________________________________________________________________________________________________

i. What sacrifices did the persona have to make? (1m)________________________________________________________________________

j. In the last stanza, who does ‘you’ refer to? (1m)________________________________________________________________________

k. What do you think is the main theme of the poem? Give a reason. (2m)________________________________________________________________________

1

Poem: I Wonder

I wonder why the grass is green,And why the wind is never seen?

Who taught the birds to built a nest,And told the trees to take a rest?

O, when the moon is not quite round,Where can the missing bit be found?

Who lights the stars, when they blow out,And makes the lightning flash about?

Who paints the rainbow in the sky,And hangs the fluffy clouds so high?

Why is it now, do you suppose,That Dad won’t tell me, if he knows?

a. What does it mean when ‘trees take a rest? (1m)____________________________________________________

b. What does the persona wonder about the stars? (1m)____________________________________________________

c. In the last stanza, why do you think the Dad does not give the persona the answers? (1m)____________________________________________________

d. Who do you think is the persona? Give a reason.(2m)

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

e. Describe the persona. (1m)________________________________________________________________

f. Give two themes of the poem (2m)_____________________________________________

______________________________________________

g. Do you think it is good to be like the persona? Why? (2m)________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

h. Can a tree take a rest? ______________________________________

i. What does the poet really mean when she says that the trees take a rest? (1m)_________________________________________________________

j. List three things that the persona is wondering about._______________________________________________________

k. State one moral value found in the poem._______________________________________________________

2

Poem: The River

The River’s a wanderer, The River’s a baby,A nomad, a tramp, He gurgles and hums,He doesn’t choose one place, And sounds like he’s happily,To set up his camp. Sucking his thumbs.

The River’s a winder, The River’s a singer,Through valley and hill, As he dances along,He twists and he turns, The country echoes,He just cannot be still. The notes of his song.

The River’s a hoarder, The River’s a monster,And he buries down deep, Hungry and vexed,Those little treasures, He’s gobbled up trees,That he wants to keep. And he’ll swallow you next

a. Why is The River like a nomad? (1m)____________________________________________________

b. Where would one find the treasures that The River keeps? (1m)____________________________________________________

c. What happens when The River is angry? (1m)____________________________________________________

d. Give 2 characteristics of The River. (2m)

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

e. The river is often given human characteristics. We call this literacy device. (1m)____________________________________________________

f. What do you think are buried deep under the river? (1m)____________________________________________________

g. When does the river gobble up trees and swallow people? (1m)____________________________________________________

h. What does the phrase He doesn’t choose one place tell us about the river? (1m)____________________________________________________

i. Give two words from the poem that the poet uses to describe the river as a winder (2m)______________________________________________________________________

j. In stanza 3, why does the persona call the river a hoarder? (1m)______________________________________________________________________

k. What is the river compared to in the last stanza? (1m)______________________________________________________________________

3

4