ENGLISH 9
THIRD QUARTER
READING ASSIGNMENT 2
Read and answer the Sharing Insights
First reading:
Song of the Sky Loom
(Tewa Indian Song)
O our Mother the Earth, O our Father
the Sky,
Your children are we, and with tired
backs
We bring you the gifts you love.
Then weave for us a garment of brightness;
May the warp be the white light of morning,
May the weft be the red light of evening,
May the fringes be the falling rain,
May the border be the standing rainbow.
Thus weave for us a garment of brightness
That we may walk fittingly where birds
sing,
That we may walk fittingly where grass
is green,
O our Mother the Earth, O our Father the Sky!
SHARING INSIGHTS
Who is speaking in the poem? To whom is it addressed?
What does the Pueblo Indian ask for in this prayer-poem?
What images created in the poem develop the idea of picture of a loom?
How can people today walk fittingly where birds sing and where grass is green?
How can peaceful coexistence be forged especially in the midst of cultural differences?
Answers:
1.the native americans or the tewa.
2.addressed to Mother Earth and Father Sky.
3.The poem is a prayer for the desert rain to bless their parched land. The phrase "garment of
brightness" is a metaphor for the loom. The sky is a loom which holds the sun. The light from the sun
comprises the cloth.
4. The "garment of brightness" is life woven by the white light of the rising sun and the red light of the
setting sun with the rain as the ornamental bordering that make life beautiful. With just a little rain
watering the land, birds will be able to sing and grass will be able to grow. Thus, people will live.
5. A person who is respectful of nature can certainly walk fittingly where birds sing and where grass is
green.
6. The modern people have to be good stewards of nature to be able to do that.