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To paraphrase is to reword. Paraphrasing is a useful strategy for understanding a poem, because it helps us see what is happening literally in writing that is often very metaphorical. A paraphrase does not re-use any words from the original, and (unlike a summary) a paraphrase maintains all of the meaning in the original. Sometimes paraphrasing uses more words than the original; rarely does it use fewer. The ideal paraphrase would maintain the meaning and use approximately the same number of words.
In the space below, paraphrase the poem “You Can’t Write a Poem about McDonald’s” by Ronald Wallace, sentence by sentence.
1 singing in my belly.
3
Noon. 2 Hunger is the only thing
I walk through the blossoming cherry trees on the library mall, past the young couples coupling, by the crazy fanatic screaming doom and salvation at a sensation-hungry crowd,
1. Twelve o’clock.
2.
3. to the Lake Street McDonald's.
4 It is crowded, the lines long and sluggish.
5 I wait in the greasy air.
6 All around me people are eating— the sizzle of conversation, the salty odor of sweat, the warm flesh pressing out of hip huggers and halter tops.
7 When I finally reach the cash register, the counter girl is crisp as a pickle, her fingers thin as french fries, her face brown as a bun.
8 Suddenly I understand cannibalism.
9 As I reach for her, she breaks into pieces wrapped neat and packaged for take-out.
10 I'm thinking, how amazing it is to live in this country, how easy it is to be filled.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

11 We leave together, her warm aroma close at my side.
12 I walk back through the cherry trees blossoming up into pies, the young couples frying in the hot, oily sun, the crowd eating up the fanatic, singing, my ear, eye, and tongue fat with the wonder of this hungry world.
11.
12.
STOP
1.
How would you describe the “I” in the poem? Female? Male? Young? Old? Use at least 4-5 adjectives in your description.
2.
Find all repeated words. Put a circle around them and write them here:
3.
Find all repeated sounds. Put a circle around them and write them here, along with their line numbers.
4.
Find all imagery. Underline each sensory word or phrase and copy it here with the line numbers and the senses.
5.
Which sentence is the shortest? How long is it?
6.
Which sentence is the longest? How long is it?
7.
What similes are used to describe the counter girl? What effect does this create?

8.
Interpret 1 the sentence “Suddenly I understand cannibalism” (sentence 8). Do you think we are supposed to understand the sentence literally? Figuratively? Give evidence to justify your interpretation.
9.
Sentences 8, 10 and part of sentence 12 give us insight into the speaker’s thoughts and feelings. What do we learn about the “I” (the speaker) in these sentences?
10.
How do you interpret the phrase “this hungry world” in the last line of the poem? What “world” is the speaker referring to? Find evidence in the poem to justify your interpretation.
11.
What terminology has come up in our discussion of this poem? List here any poetry terms you know for the things we have noticed in the poem so far.
12.
After studying the poem (by answering the above questions thoughtfully), how do you interpret the poem as a whole?
13.
How does this poem answer the question, what does it mean to be American?
1 interpret (v): explain the meaning of