Tuesday, July 13, 2004, 18:42 GMT
hello,
Here are the 4 stanzas of a simple poem “tree”
1] “It takes much time to kill a tree
Not a simple job of knife will do it
It has grown slowly, consuming the earth.”
What does the phrase “consuming the earth” mean? Does it mean depending on the earth? Living on it? Feed on it?
In what other ways can we express the second line “not a…..do it” and what does “a simple job of knife” refer to”?
2] “Rising out of it,
Feeding upon its crust,
Absorbing years of sunlight, air, water,
And out of its leprous hide sprouting leaves”
What does the “its” refer to in the 4th line? The earth’s? Or the bark of the tree?
3] Out of the anchoring earth
It is to be roped…..and pulled out
What does “anchoring earth” mean?
4] And the strength of the tree exposed
The source, white and wet
The most sensitive, hidden from years
Inside the earth
What does it mean to say that the strength of the tree is exposed?
What does “hidden from years” mean? Does it mean the same as hidden for years?
Thanks
bubu
Here are the 4 stanzas of a simple poem “tree”
1] “It takes much time to kill a tree
Not a simple job of knife will do it
It has grown slowly, consuming the earth.”
What does the phrase “consuming the earth” mean? Does it mean depending on the earth? Living on it? Feed on it?
In what other ways can we express the second line “not a…..do it” and what does “a simple job of knife” refer to”?
2] “Rising out of it,
Feeding upon its crust,
Absorbing years of sunlight, air, water,
And out of its leprous hide sprouting leaves”
What does the “its” refer to in the 4th line? The earth’s? Or the bark of the tree?
3] Out of the anchoring earth
It is to be roped…..and pulled out
What does “anchoring earth” mean?
4] And the strength of the tree exposed
The source, white and wet
The most sensitive, hidden from years
Inside the earth
What does it mean to say that the strength of the tree is exposed?
What does “hidden from years” mean? Does it mean the same as hidden for years?
Thanks
bubu