Elegy on my Aunt Shelly Aunt Shelly was soft as cotton,
and always smelled of coconut oil.
Her laughter rang like bells
throughout the hills.
When she ran after the cattle,
even the sun stopped setting to watch.
Aunt Shelly sang to me the songs
she learned from grandmother—
the mystifying melodies
older than time.
Aunt Shelly was sweet as the waters
that flow from mountains to rivers—
pure, and unearthly.
I wonder where Aunt Shelly is—
Perhaps in the flight of the clouds
that bring the rain to me.
Perhaps she rests
on the other side of the river bank.
Perhaps she reads from heaven
these lines in her memory.

Elegy

They all returned, except my only Ted.
They said he fell at war, they left him there.
He doesn't have a grave, and flowers none.
I have the pain, more than I can bear.

To stare at emptiness is not enough.
I think of things he left besides this hurt,
and read again the letters he sent me,
I know the words as well as my own face.

He wrote the war was ending, he'll be home.
"My darling love, just wait for a few days.
I'll build a fence, and plant you some lilies.
I will return. I hope you are still the same."

I am not the same, and neither is this world.
I mourn for him. It seems I can't move on.
Someday I will plant lilies and fix the fence.
For now, I shed these tears, to ease the pain.

6
How do the dashes in "Elegy on my Aunt Shelly" add to the poem's emotional impact?
A.
They emphasize areas where the poet expresses emotions that contrast the rest of the poem.
B.
They create additional places for the poet to clarify meaning and feeling about Aunt Shelly.
C.
They switch the poem's focus between Aunt Shelly and the poet.
D.
They create a question and answer format about the poet's feelings about Aunt Shelly.