Poem: i am offering this poem
by jimmy santiago baca 1990
i am offering this poem to you,
since i have nothing else to give.
keep it like a warm coat
when winter comes to cover you,
or like a pair of thick socks
the cold cannot bite through,
i love you,
i have nothing else to give you,
so it is a pot full of yellow corn
to warm your belly in winter,
it is a scarf for your head, to wear
over your hair, to tie up around your face,

i love you,

keep it, treasure this as you would
if you were lost, needing direction,
in the wilderness life becomes when mature;
and in the corner of your drawer,
tucked away like a cabin or hogan1
in dense2 trees, come knocking,
and i will answer, give you directions,
and let you warm yourself by this fire,
rest by this fire, and make you feel safe

i love you,
it’s all i have to give,
and all anyone needs to live,
and to go on living inside,
when the world outside
no longer cares if you live or die;
remember,

i love you.

question:
the meaning of the poem, not just the obvious meaning of each word but what they mean beyond the literal. do these words suggest something else?
• who is the subject of the poem?
• what are they talking about?
• why do you think the author wrote the poem?
• when is the poem happening?
• where is the poem happening?
• what is the poet’s attitude?
• how does the poem shift from person to person or between different times or places

Poem: I Am Offering This Poem

by Jimmy Santiago Baca 1990

I am offering this poem to you,

since I have nothing else to give.

Keep it like a warm coat

when winter comes to cover you,

or like a pair of thick socks

the cold cannot bite through,

I love you,

I have nothing else to give you,

so it is a pot full of yellow corn

to warm your belly in winter,

it is a scarf for your head, to wear

over your hair, to tie up around your face,

I love you,

Keep it, treasure this as you would

if you were lost, needing direction,

in the wilderness life becomes when mature;

and in the corner of your drawer,

tucked away like a cabin or hogan1

in dense2 trees, come knocking,

and I will answer, give you directions,

and let you warm yourself by this fire,

rest by this fire, and make you feel safe

I love you,

It’s all I have to give,

and all anyone needs to live,

and to go on living inside,

when the world outside

no longer cares if you live or die;

remember,

I love you.

Question:

the meaning of the poem, not just the obvious meaning of each word but what they mean beyond the literal. Do these words suggest something else?

• Who is the subject of the poem?

• What are they talking about?

• Why do you think the author wrote the poem?

• When is the poem happening?

• Where is the poem happening?

• What is the poet’s attitude?

• How does the poem shift from person to person or between different times or places

Who is the subject of the poem?  A loved person

• What are they talking about?  They are talking about love

• Why do you think the author wrote the poem?  Because he is declaring his love

• When is the poem happening?  The poem is happening at the beginning of the relationship

• What is the poet’s attitude?  The poem is sweet, tender, gentle, lovely.

• How does the poem shift from person to person or between different times or places I think nothing will change from person to person, because the poem is straight to the point when talking about love.

Explanation:

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)

stating you point whats is aking you to write about?