“hanging fire”
by audre lorde

i am fourteen
and my skin has betrayed me
the boy i cannot live without
still sucks his thumb
in secret
how come my knees are
always so ashy
what if i die
before the morning comes
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.

i have to learn how to dance
in time for the next party
my room is too small for me
suppose i die before graduation
they will sing sad melodies
but finally
tell the truth about me
there is nothing i want to do
and too much
that has to be done
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.

nobody even stops to think
about my side of it
i should have been on math team
my marks were better than his
why do i have to be
the one
wearing braces
i have nothing to wear tomorrow
will i live long enough
to grow up
and momma’s in the bedroom
with the door closed.

source: lorde, audre. “hanging fire.” the black unicorn: poems. new york: kitchen table: women of color press, 1978. el camino college. web. 06 june 2011.

which poetic techniques are illustrated in the opening lines “i am fourteen/and my skin has betrayed me/the boy i cannot live without/still sucks his thumb/in secret”?

alliteration and metaphor

allusion and alliteration

apostrophe and simile

personification and enjambment

Checklist imagine that your local library has invited community members to submit proposals for a fundraiser. you are the student representative on the committee to choose the best proposal. read the two proposals, paying close attention to their similarities and differences. consider whether or not each proposal is logistically feasible, which fundraiser will most appeal to members of your community, and which fundraiser will likely raise more money. which proposal do you think the committee should choose? write an essay in which you make a case for your choice. support your argument with references to specific details in each proposal. proposal 1: the best way to get people invested in the library is to show them the joy of reading. for that reason, the library should hold a book sale. people could donate books that they no longer want, and the librarians could find books that the library no longer needs. volunteers would need to sort the books into categories and arrange them in an inviting way, like at a bookstore. books should be inexpensive so people will buy more of them – maybe fifty cents for paperbacks and two dollars for hardcover books. a book sale would appeal to people of all ages, from little kids to older people. there should also be a table where people can sign up for library cards. that way, if visitors do not find any books they want at the sale, they can come back to the library. proposal 2: a great way to make money for the library would be holding a car wash. the softball team at my school raised over $400 at their car wash last year! the car wash could be held in the library parking lot on a saturday morning. you could ask local high school students to volunteer to wash the cars. that would be a great way to get students involved with the library. it takes two or three volunteers to wash a car quickly, so you would need at least ten volunteers. you could charge around ten dollars per car. even people who are not very interested in reading like to have a clean car, so you would get a lot of people to stop by who might not otherwise come to a library fundraiser.

Which of the following words best describes gregors life as expressed in this passage a.) excitingb.)surprisingc.)satisfying d.)demanding

Write a five-minute oral presentation about the call of the wild, writing for an audience of your peers. what did you find most fascinating or interesting about the story, and what did you think were its most important points? include one visual element to support your ideas; this may be a short slideshow. then, make small changes to your speech to adapt it to be presented to a formal audience. enter both versions of your speech (informal and formal) in the space below, and include your selected visual element. if possible, present your speech to an audience to receive feedback.