“Listening to Her Practice: My Middle Daughter, on the Edge of Adolescence, Learns to Play the Saxophone” by Barbara Cooker For Rebecca Her hair, that halo of red gold curls, has thickened, coarsened, lost its baby fineness, and the sweet smell of childhood that clung to her clothes has just about vanished. Now she’s getting moody, moaning about her hair, clothes that aren’t the right brands, boys that tease. She clicks over the saxophone keys with gritty fingernails polished in pink pearl, grass stains on the knees of her sister’s old designer jeans. She’s gone from sounding like the smoke detector through Old MacDonald and Jingle Bells. Soon she’ll master these keys, turn notes into liquid gold, wail that reedy brass. Soon, she’ll be a woman. She’s gonna learn to play the blues. Source: Cooker, Barbara. “Listening to Her Practice: My Middle Daughter, on the Edge of Adolescence, Learns to Play the Saxophe.” Ordinary Life. New York: ByLine Press, 2000. El Camino College. Web. 6 May 2011. “Hanging Fire” by Audre Lorde I am fourteen and my skin has betrayed me the boy I cannot live without still sucks his thumb in secret how come my knees are always so ashy what if I die before the morning comes and momma’s in the bedroom with the door closed. I have to learn how to dance in time for the next party my room is too small for me suppose I die before graduation they will sing sad melodies but finally tell the truth about me There is nothing I want to do and too much that has to be done and momma��s in the bedroom with the door closed. Nobody even stops to think about my side of it I should have been on Math Team my marks were better than his why do I have to be the one wearing braces I have nothing to wear tomorrow will I live long enough to grow up and momma’s in the bedroom with the door closed. Source: Lorde, Audre. “Hanging Fire.” The Black Unicorn: Poems. New York: Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1978. El Camino College. Web. 06 June 2011. Which statement is the most accurate comparison of the two poems? Both poems deal with adolescence, but one is blank verse and the other is free verse. Both poems use apostrophe, but only one includes allusions and metaphors. Neither poem uses rhyme, but the poem by Lorde uses rhythm. Both poems deal with adolescence but from different perspectives.

Can i get it's due read the poem below, and then answer the questions that follow. the courage that my mother had by edna st. vincent millay the courage that my mother had went with her, and is with her still: rock from new england quarried; now granite in a granite hill. the golden brooch my mother wore she left behind for me to wear; i have no thing i treasure more: yet, it is something i could spare. oh, if instead she'd left to me the thing she took into the grave! - that courage like a rock, which she has no more need of, and i have. the metaphor in lines 3-4 suggest what about the mother? question 1 options: that the speaker's mother was a big, tough woman that the speaker's mother died before she should have that the speaker's mother did not leave anything to her child when she passed away that the speaker's mother was strong and brave < this is what i think the answer is. the courage that my mother had by edna st. vincent millay the courage that my mother had went with her, and is with her still: rock from new england quarried; now granite in a granite hill. the golden brooch my mother wore she left behind for me to wear; i have no thing i treasure more: yet, it is something i could spare. oh, if instead she'd left to me the thing she took into the grave! - that courage like a rock, which she has no more need of, and i have. based on the 2nd stanza, how does the speaker feel about the golden brooch that was passed down from the mother to child? question 2 options: the speaker thinks it was a waste of money the speaker places a high value on the item the speaker never wears the brooch the speaker feels it could be easily replaced the courage that my mother had by edna st. vincent millay the courage that my mother had went with her, and is with her still: rock from new england quarried; now granite in a granite hill. the golden brooch my mother wore she left behind for me to wear; i have no thing i treasure more: yet, it is something i could spare. oh, if instead she'd left to me the thing she took into the grave! - that courage like a rock, which she has no more need of, and i have. which line from stanza 2 supports the answer the the previous question? (how does the speaker feel about the brooch the mother passed down to child? ) question 3 options: the golden brooch my mother wore she left behind for me to wear; i have no thing i treasure more yet, it is something i could spare. the courage that my mother had by edna st. vincent millay the courage that my mother had went with her, and is with her still: rock from new england quarried; now granite in a granite hill. the golden brooch my mother wore she left behind for me to wear; i have no thing i treasure more: yet, it is something i could spare. oh, if instead she'd left to me the thing she took into the grave! - that courage like a rock, which she has no more need of, and i have. which item does the speaker admire and value the most that the mother possessed? question 4 options: courage a rock golden brooch granite the courage that my mother had by edna st. vincent millay the courage that my mother had went with her, and is with her still: rock from new england quarried; now granite in a granite hill. the golden brooch my mother wore she left behind for me to wear; i have no thing i treasure more: yet, it is something i could spare. oh, if instead she'd left to me the thing she took into the grave! - that courage like a rock, which she has no more need of, and i have. what is the theme of this poem? question 5 options: be careful what you wish for. some people do not get a good inheritance from their parents familial love is the most valuable thing honorable qualities can be more valuable than expensive items.