For Albert Wendt (on his Birthday)
By Karlo Mila
you dare to fish
beyond the coral reefs
of our understanding
your net pulls in poems
flicking salty tales
you find nuanua*
in the eye of hurricanes
celebrate thunder
we prefer not to hear
and relish
the quicksilver laughter of lightning
you shake the tree
of the frangipani
and as the flowers fall from grace
you string them into sentences
ants and all
your narrative is a needle
that pierces the thickest skin
the ink of your pen
blending with our blood
tattooing stories of altered genealogies**
between the lines
of our naked bodies
*'nuanua' is the Samoan word for rainbows
** tattoos in many Polynesian cultures are used to represent a person's genealogy or family history
ANSWERS
(NCEA Level 2 English revision guide. 2007 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 22)
(NCEA Level 2 English revision guide. 2009 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 28)
(NCEA Level 2 English revision guide. 2010 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 21)
(NCEA Level 2 English revision guide. 2014 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 28)
you dare to fish
beyond the coral reefs
of our understanding
your net pulls in poems
flicking salty tales
you find nuanua*
in the eye of hurricanes
celebrate thunder
we prefer not to hear
and relish
the quicksilver laughter of lightning
you shake the tree
of the frangipani
and as the flowers fall from grace
you string them into sentences
ants and all
your narrative is a needle
that pierces the thickest skin
the ink of your pen
blending with our blood
tattooing stories of altered genealogies**
between the lines
of our naked bodies
*'nuanua' is the Samoan word for rainbows
** tattoos in many Polynesian cultures are used to represent a person's genealogy or family history
- Explain why 'For Albert Wendt (On his Birthday)' is an appropriate title for this poem (A)
- Analyse how THREE qualities of Albert Wendt are presented in lines 1-17. Support your analysis of each quality with specific reference to lines 1-17. (A/M/E)
- Analyse the extended metaphor in the final stanza (lines 18-24) (A/M/E)
ANSWERS
(NCEA Level 2 English revision guide. 2007 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 22)
(NCEA Level 2 English revision guide. 2009 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 28)
(NCEA Level 2 English revision guide. 2010 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 21)
(NCEA Level 2 English revision guide. 2014 edition, Really Useful Resources, pg. 28)