How does the focus of the poem “birmingham sunday” by richard fariña differ from the focus of the poem “ballad of birmingham” by dudley randall? “ballad of birmingham” discusses the deaths of all four girls, while “birmingham sunday” focuses on the death of one girl. “birmingham sunday” discusses the deaths of all four girls, while “ballad of birmingham” focuses on the death of one girl. in “birmingham sunday” the mother fears that church may not be safe, while in “ballad of birmingham” the child fears the freedom protest. in “birmingham sunday” the child fears that church may not be safe, while in “ballad of birmingham” the mother fears the freedom protest.

Read the excerpt from the poem "growing up italian" by maria mazziotti gillan and answer the question that follows. when i was a little girl, i thought everyone was italian, and that was good. we visted our aunts and uncles, and they visted us. the italian language smooth and sweet in my mouth. in kindergarten, english words fell on me, thick and sharp as hail. i grew silent, the italian word balanced on the edge of my tongue and the english word, lost during the first moment of every question. source: gillan, maria mazziotti. "growing up italian." poetrymagazine.com. poetry magazine, n.d. web. 30 mar. 2011. what is the tone of this poem? what does the tone reveal about the speaker of the poem and the conflict she faces? based on this excerpt, what can you predict about the theme of the poem?