Reading Comprehension: “To the light of September”

Well, hello!

Today we will be reading a beautiful poem by W.S.Merwin on September.

Remember, to read poems, it’s all about the feel and not just the words… so let the meaning soak through you and enjoy the rhythm of the verses.

To the Light of September

When you are already here
you appear to be only
a name that tells of you
whether you are present or not
and for now it seems as though
you are still summer
still the high familiar
endless summer
yet with a glint
of bronze in the chill mornings
and the late yellow petals
of the mullein fluttering
on the stalks that lean
over their broken
shadows across the cracked ground
but they all know
that you have come
the seed heads of the sage
the whispering birds
with nowhere to hide you
to keep you for later
you
who fly with them
you who are neither
before nor after
you who arrive
with blue plums
that have fallen through the night
perfect in the dew

Vocabulary

scrumpingmovieSoak – to enter something by a gradual process.

Verses – writing in which words are arranged in a rhythmic pattern.

Whether – if it is or was true that.

Present – not past or future : existing or happening now.

Endless – having no end : seeming to have no end : lasting or taking a long time.

Glint – to shine in small bright flashes.

Bronze – a yellowish-brown color.

Mullein – a herb.

Stalks – a thick or tall stem of a plant.

Shadows – a dark shape that appears on a surface when someone or something moves between the surface and a source of light.

Cracked – having a crack or many cracks : having a damaged surface but usually not broken into pieces.

Sage – an herb that has grayish-green leaves which are used in cooking.

Plums – a round, juicy fruit that has red or purple skin, sweet yellow flesh, and a hard seed at the center.

 

So beautiful, no? And what’s your favourite poem? Please share with us!

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