DanielLee


 * 1. **** Select one poem of the four provided and write another poem mimicking the style and syntax of the first poem. You can change the topic and words, but the rhythm, number of syllables, sentence structure and poetic elements (such as repetition and figurative language) have to be mirrored in your poem. You may write on any topic you like. **

** THE CORN GROWS UP **

The corn grows up. The waters of the dark clouds drop, drop. The rain descends. The waters from the corn leaves drop, drop. The rain descends. The waters from the plants drop, drop. The corn grows up. The waters of the dark mists drop, drop. // from the Navajo Indians //

__My Poem__ //The student writes.// //The fingers holding the pencil tap, tap// //The test has begun.// //The fingers on the calculator tap, tap.// //The test has begun.// //The fingers scratching his head tap, tap.// //The student writes.// //The fingers drumming on the table tap, tap.//

** 2. **** Select two poems (must be different than the one you picked for #1) and write two short paragraphs that compare and contrast the poems. Your paragraphs can focus on different elements of the poems, including subject, theme, tone, use of poetic devices such as repetition, imagery, and any progressions that you notice in the poems (for example, you might notice that the images get stronger in each line, or the detail gets more specific). Be sure that (a) you explain how the elements contribute to the message or feeling of the whole poem and (b) that you don’t just talk about one poem and then the other. You have to first talk about the comparisons (similarities) and then the contrasts (differences). So you have to think about the structure of your paragraphs before you write them. **

The two poems "The Song of The Sky Loom" and "I Have Killed the Deer", share a similar aspect that helps convey each poem's meaning; both poems use quite a bit of repetition. In "The Song of The Sky Loom" the beginnings of the lines are repeated such as "May the..." and "That We..." and the phrase "O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky" is used once at the beginning of the poem and once at the end, and in "I have Killed the Deer" the first few sentences begin with "I have...". The usage of repetition in both poems helps to make the message more powerful. For example, in "I Have Killed the Deer", if the poet had written "I have killed deer, I also crushed the grasshopper" instead of "I have killed deer, I have crushed the grasshopper" the message would have been less meaningful.

Some of the aspects of these poems that help portray their messages, are contrasted in many ways. First of all, the tone of both poems are quite different. "The Song of The Sky Loom" was written in a happy and enthusiastic tone. This helps strengthen the message of the poem, which seems to be that the beauty of nature should be celebrated. The tone in "I Have Killed the Deer" is contrasted with "The Song of The Sky Loom", because while the latter is written in a tone of enthusiasm, the former is written in a grave and solemn tone. This kind of tone is fitting for this poem because the message is also quite grave and solemn; that one must kill in order to survive. This difference in the two poems is most obvious when the styles of imagery are compared. For "The Song of The Sky Loom", the style of imagery is exaggerated and very descriptive such as in the phrases "Weave for us a garment of brightness" and "May the border be the standing rainbow". However, in "I Have Killed the Deer" the style of imagery is based purely on facts and barely exaggerated at all. "I have killed deer" "I have crushed the grasshopper" "I have taken fish from water", these are all examples of how the style of imagery in this poem is factual and hardly exaggerated.

** 3. **** Read the short story called **** "The Navajo Origin Legend **** ". Answer the following questions: ** ** a. **** What did you like about the story? ** I liked the fact that this "Navajo Origin Legend" was written in so much detail. The descriptions and the explanations for the things that happened in this legend are written in quite good detail, and this makes the story more interesting. ** b. **** What did you dislike about the story? ** I did not like how the fact that there was a sort of contradiction or error in the story. In the beginning of the story, there were men and women mentioned as washing themselves with cornmeal while waiting for the four gods. However, after the four gods completed their ritual, it was said that the ears of corn were replaced by a man and a woman who became the First man and First woman. This seems to be contradictory or an error since there were men and women washing themselves in cornmeal before the "First" man and "First' woman were created. ** c. **** What was the image that was most powerful or interesting for you? ** When the four gods appeared, and they were each holding their own items. For whatever reason, this image is extremely clear in my mind's eye. ** d. **** The Native Americans who wrote this poem are similar to other pre-colonial societies in that they write about the materials of their everyday lives in their myths. Food, nature, and animals are some such materials. Identify all the specific materials that appear in the story that would be common in the everyday lives of the Native American culture. For each material that you identify, explain briefly what is happening to it in the story. ** Buckskin - In the story, this was used to cover the other items that were used to create the First man and woman. Corn - White Body carried two ears of corn (one white one yellow). After the ritual was performed, each corn transformed into the First man and woman. ** e. **** What can you tell about the culture of this people based on the materials that appear in this story and they way that these objects are used? Do you notice any patterns in how these materials are depicted? ** After reading "The Navajo Origin Legend", I have a feeling that the Navajo Indians consider all things from nature sacred, because the buckskins, corn, and eagle feather were all used in the creation of the First man and woman. Also, it seems that the men are considered to be white corn, while the women are considered to be yellow corn.

** 4. The speaker in "I Have Killed a Deer" talks about death and killing in an unusual way. How would you describe the way he talks about death and killing? Why does he talk about it this way? Do you think he feels sorry for killing living things? What single line is a turning point in the message of this poem? What is the overall message of this poem, in a single short sentence? ** The speaker talks about death as a means for other living things to survive. He talks about it in this way to explain the circle of life; when things die, their bodies are used by living things, when those things die, their bodies are used by other living things, etc.. I doubt that he feels sorry for the living things that he kills because he understands that while he kills things to support himself, when he eventually dies, his body will be used to support other living things. "In my life I have needed death, So that my life can be." is the single line which is the turning point of the poem. This is because up until that line, it seemed as though the speaker was simply listing the living things that he has killed in his life. The overall message of this poem is that all living things die, and all living things use the dead products of these living things to support themselves.

** THE SONG OF THE SKY LOOM **

O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky, . . . weave for us a garment of brightness; May the warp be the white light of morning, May the weft be the red light of evening, May the fringes be the falling rain, May the border be the standing rainbow. Thus weave for us a garment of brightness That we may walk fittingly where birds sing, That we may walk fittingly where grass is green, O our Mother the Earth, O our father the Sky! // from the Tewa Indians //

** THE CORN GROWS UP **

The corn grows up. The waters of the dark clouds drop, drop. The rain descends. The waters from the corn leaves drop, drop. The rain descends. The waters from the plants drop, drop. The corn grows up. The waters of the dark mists drop, drop. // from the Navajo Indians //

** The Navajo Origin Legend **

On the morning of the twelfth day the people washed themselves well. The women dried themselves with yellow cornmeal; the men with white cornmeal. Soon after the ablutions were completed they heard the distant call of the approaching gods [the four Navajo gods: White Body, Blue Body, Yellow Body, and Black Body]. It was shouted, as before, four times—nearer and louder at each repetition—and, after the fourth call, the gods appeared. Blue Body and Black Body each carried a sacred buckskin. White Body carried two ears of corn, one yellow, one white, each covered at the end completely with grains. The gods laid one buckskin on the ground with the head to the west; on this they placed the two ears of corn, with their tips to the east, and over the corn they spread the other buckskin with its head to the east; under the white ear they put the feather of a white eagle, under the yellow ear the feather of a yellow eagle. Then they told the people to stand at a distance and allow the wind to enter. The white wind blew from the east, and the yellow wind blew from the west, between the skins. While the wind was blowing, eight of the Mirage People [mirages personified] came and walked around the objects on the ground four times, and as they walked the eagle feathers, whose tips protruded from between the buckskins, were seen to move. When the Mirage People had finished their walk the upper buckskin was lifted; the ears of corn had disappeared, a man and a woman lay there in their stead. The white ear of corn had been changed into a man, the yellow ear into a woman. It was the wind that gave them life. It is the wind that comes out of our mouths now that gives us life. When this ceases to blow we die. In the skin at the tips of our fingers we see the trail of the wind; it shows us where the wind blew when our ancestors were created. The pair thus created were First Man and First Woman (Atse Hastin and Atse Estsan). The gods directed the people to build an enclosure of brushwood for the pair. When the enclosure was finished, First Man and First Woman entered it, and the gods said to them: “Live together now as husband and wife.”


 * Hunting Song**

Comes the deer to my singing.

He, the blackbird, he am I, Bird beloved of the wild deer. Comes the deer to my singing.

From the Mountain Black From the summit, Down the trail, coming, coming now, Comes the deer to my singing.

Through the flower dewdrops Through the flowers, coming, coming now, Comes the deer to my singing. Through the pollen, flower pollen, Coming, coming now, Comes the deer to my singing.

Starting with his left forefoot, Stamping, turns the frightened deer, Comes the deer to my singing.

Quarry mine, blessed am I In the luck of the chase. Comes the deer to my singing.

Comes the deer to my singing, Comes the deer to my song, Comes the deer to my singing.

// from the Navajo Indians //

** I Have Killed the Deer **

I have killed deer. I have crushed the grasshopper And the plants he feeds upon. I have cut through the heart Of trees growing old and straight. I have taken fish from water And birds from the sky. In my life I have needed death So that my life can be. When I died I must give life To what has nourished me. The earth receives my body And gives it to the plants And to the caterpillars To the birds And to the coyotes Each in its own turn so that The circle of life is never broken. // from the Taos Pueblo Indians //