From missing may by cynthia rylant the green and white road signs kept teasing us along with mentions of capitol street so many miles ahead, and we strained our eyes for a glimpse of the gold leafed dome, like columbus looking for a continent. it was, and i know it was better than all three of us figured it would be. the capitol building sprawled gray concrete like a regal queen spreading her petticoats, and its giant dome glittered pure gold in the morning sun. i felt in me an embarrassing sense of pride that she was ours. that we weren't shut down old coal mines and people on welfare like the rest of the country wanted to believe we were. we were this majestic, elegant thing sitting solid, sparkling in the light. identify the figure of speech in the sentence: the capitol building sprawled gray concrete like a regal queen spreading her petticoats, and its giant dome glittered pure gold in the morning sun. a) exaggeration b) idiom c) onomatopoeia d) simile

“tell me o swan, your ancient tale” by kabir “the swan” by rilke “spanish dancer” by rilke “your laughter” by pablo neruda “birthplace” by shaffarzadeh “it’s this way” by nazim hikmet “counting small-boned bodies” by robert bly choose two poems that you would like to write about. analyze each poem. study the perspective, or point of view, of the speaker in each of the two poems that you select for this assignment. consider these questions: who is the speaker in each of these poems? what is the speaker’s tone? is there a conflict? is there a message? what does each of the poems have in common? what is different about each of the poems? which literary devices are used in the poems? are these literary devices found in both of the poems? what does the speaker hope to achieve in each of the poems? how are these achievements/goals been met? directions: using the two poems of your choosing, write a clear, concise, two hundred and fifty word essay that compares and contrasts the two poems. make sure you include at least two of the following to support your thesis: tone, point of view, literary devices, and meter.