“Translating Grandfather’s House”
star
star
star
star
star
Last updated about 2 years ago
3 questions
Translating Grandfather's House
According to my sketch,
Rows of lemon & mango
Trees frame the courtyard
Of Grandfather’s stone
And clapboard home;
The shadow of a palomino,1
Gallops on the lip
Of the horizon.
The teacher says
The house is from
Some Zorro
Movie I’ve seen.
“Ask my mom,” I protest.
“She was born there—
Right there on the second floor!”
Crossing her arms she moves on.
Memories once certain as rivets
Become confused as awakenings
In strange places and I question
The house, the horse, the wrens
Perched on the slate roof—
The roof Oscar Jartín
Tumbled from one hot Tuesday,
Installing a new weather vane;
(He broke a shin and two fingers).
Classmates finish drawings of New York City
Housing projects on Navy Street.
I draw one too, with wildgrass
Rising from sidewalk cracks like widows.
In big round letters I title it:
GRANDFATHER’S HOUSE
Beaming, the teacher scrawls
An A+ in the corner and tapes
It to the green blackboard.
To the green blackboard.
2
At which point does the speaker’s tone most change from individualism to conformity?
At which point does the speaker’s tone most change from individualism to conformity?
2
“It to the green blackboard.
To the green blackboard.”
What is the most likely significance for why the repeated lines above are separated into two different stanzas?
“It to the green blackboard.
To the green blackboard.”
What is the most likely significance for why the repeated lines above are separated into two different stanzas?
2
Which sentence states the topic, NOT the theme of the poem?
Which sentence states the topic, NOT the theme of the poem?