PART A: STAND-ALONE TEXT
7 multiple-choice questions
1 written-response question
Value: 23%
Suggested Time: 25 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following poem, “Ordinary Life,” and answer the multiple-choice questions.
For each question, select the best answer and record your choice on the Answer
Sheet provided.
Ordinary Life
by Barbara Crooker
5
10
15
20
This was a day when nothing happened,
the children went off to school
without a murmur, remembering
their books, lunches, gloves.
All morning, the baby and I built block stacks
in the squares of light on the floor.
And lunch blended into naptime,
I cleaned out kitchen cupboards,
one of those jobs that never gets done,
then sat in a circle of sunlight
and drank ginger tea,
watched the birds at the feeder
jostle over lunch’s little scraps.
A pheasant strutted from the hedgerow,
preened and flashed his jeweled head.
Now a chicken roasts in the pan,
and the children return,
the murmur of their stories dappling the air.
I peel carrots and potatoes without paring1 my thumb.
We listen together for your wheels on the drive.
Grace2 before bread.
And at the table, actual conversation,
no bickering or pokes.
And then, the drift into homework.
1 paring: cutting
2 Grace:
Page 2
in this context, a prayer before a meal
English 12 – 1108 Form A
25
30
35
The baby goes to his cars, drives them
along the sofa’s ridges and hills.
Leaning by the counter, we steal a long slow kiss,
tasting of coffee and cream.
The chicken’s diminished to skin & skeleton,
the moon to a comma, a sliver of white,
but this has been a day of grace
in the dead of winter,
the hard cold knuckle of the year,
a day that unwrapped itself
like an unexpected gift,
and the stars turn on,
order themselves
into the winter night.
1. “the children went off to school
without a murmur, remembering
their books, lunches, gloves”
In the context of the poem, what do the above lines (lines 2–4) imply about the children?
A.
B.
C.
D.
They are still sleepy.
They are eager to go to school.
They are anxious to please their mother.
They are uncharacteristically well-behaved.
2. What does “And lunch blended into naptime” (line 7) suggest about the speaker?
A.
B.
C.
D.
She treasures quiet time with her baby.
She is comfortable with her daily routine.
She is immersed in the rhythm of this day.
She values the opportunity to finish her chores.
3. Which sound device is used in “murmur of their stories” (line 18)?
A.
B.
C.
D.
alliteration
cacophony
internal rhyme
onomatopoeia
English 12 – 1108 Form A
Page 3
4. What does “we steal a long slow kiss” (line 27) suggest?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The children demand too much attention.
The parents have little time alone together.
The children do not like to see their parents kiss.
The parents are not usually outwardly affectionate.
5. Which literary device is used in “the hard cold knuckle of the year” (line 33)?
A.
B.
C.
D.
pun
juxtaposition
personification
understatement
6. Which quotation best expresses the central idea of the poem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
“This was a day when nothing happened” (line 1)
“And at the table, actual conversation” (line 22)
“but this has been a day of grace / in the dead of winter” (lines 31 and 32)
“and the stars turn on, / order themselves / into the winter night” (lines 36–38)
7. Which term best describes the form of the poem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Page 4
ode
lyric
ballad
dramatic monologue
English 12 – 1108 Form A
PART B: POETRY
Value: 20 marks
Suggested Time: 25 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the poem “ Request to a Year” on page 1 in the Readings Booklet. Select the
best answer for each question and record your choice on the Response Form
provided.
11. In the poem, what happens to the second son?
A.
B.
C.
D.
He is saved by his sister.
He is saved by his mother.
He strikes the rocks below.
He drowns in the waterfall.
12. What does “ and with the artist’s isolating eye” (line 18) suggest about
the great-great-grandmother?
A.
B.
C.
D.
She felt lonely.
She had poor eyesight.
She felt no love for her son.
She focused on the specific scene.
13. Which poetic device is found in lines 21 and 22 ?
A.
B.
C.
D.
paradox
metaphor
hyperbole
apostrophe
14. The speaker would be most pleased to inherit which of her
great-great-grandmother’s characteristics?
A.
B.
C.
D.
her generosity
her artistic talent
her steadfastness
her maternal instinct
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15. What is the attitude of the speaker towards the great-great-grandmother?
A.
B.
C.
D.
angry
critical
admiring
indifferent
16. According to the poem, what did having eight children mean for the
great-great-grandmother?
A.
B.
C.
D.
She had a life of anxiety.
She had little time for her art.
She had too many people to look after.
She had few talents other than child-rearing.
17. Which form best describes this poem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
lyric
narrative
free verse
blank verse
18. To what does the title of the poem refer?
A.
B.
C.
D.
a fond memory
the speaker’s wish
an imagined fantasy
the speaker’s birthday
OVER
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Request to a Year
(page 1 in the Readings Booklet)
INSTRUCTIONS: In paragraph form and in approximately 125 to 150 words, answer question 1 in the
space provided. Write in ink. The mark for your answer will be based on the
appropriateness of the example(s) you use as well as the adequacy of your
explanation and the quality of your written expression.
1. In paragraph form and with specific reference to “ Request to a Year,” discuss
theme in this poem.
-6-
(12 marks)
PART B: POETRY
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following passage and answer the questions on pages 4 to 7 of the
written-response booklet.
Request to a Year
by Judith Wright
1
If the year is meditating a suitable gift,
I should like it to be the attitude
of my great-great-grandmother,
legendary devotee of the arts,
5
who having had eight children
and little opportunity for painting pictures,
sat one day on a high rock
beside a river in Switzerland
10
15
20
and from a difficult distance viewed
her second son, balanced on a small ice-floe,
drift down the current towards a waterfall
that struck rock-bottom eighty feet1 below,
while her second daughter, impeded,
no doubt, by the petticoats of the day,
stretched out a last-hope alpenstock2
(which luckily later caught him on his way).
Nothing, it was evident, could be done;
and with the artist’s isolating eye
my great-great-grandmother hastily sketched the scene.
The sketch survives to prove the story by.
Year, if you have no Mother’s Day present planned,
reach back and bring me the firmness of her hand.
1
2
eighty feet: approximately 25 metres
alpenstock: hiking stick
OVER
-1-
PART B: POETRY
Total Value: 20 marks
Suggested Time: 25 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the poem “Birthday Present from First Born” on pages 2 and 3 in the Readings
Booklet. Select the best answer for each question and record your choice on the
Response Form provided.
11. Line 1, “In the mail today, a small silver frog—the size of a thumbnail” contains
an example of
A.
B.
C.
D.
oxymoron.
hyperbole.
assonance.
onomatopoeia.
12. Lines 11 to 16 suggest that the speaker realizes the mother was
A.
B.
C.
D.
amused.
devious.
supportive.
disappointed.
13. The “…perfect beauty of peacock or ostrich, / rare delight of giant sea turtle”
(lines 14 and 15) exists
A.
B.
C.
D.
at the beach.
at the Bruce County campsite.
in the mind of the speaker’s child.
in the mind of the speaker’s mother.
14. “…[It] left soapy webprints / like footfalls on the moon” (lines 28 and 29) contains an
example of
A.
B.
C.
D.
simile.
dissonance.
internal rhyme.
understatement.
-4-
15. Lines 38 to 41 beginning with “You were born” suggest that the speaker feels
A.
B.
C.
D.
fear.
wonder.
isolation.
excitement.
16. Line 41, “plunged, like Demeter, into another world,” contains an example of
A.
B.
C.
D.
allusion.
allegory.
metonymy.
personification.
17. The last stanza suggests that the speaker is
A.
B.
C.
D.
unable to speak.
fond of jewelry.
filled with emotion.
embarrassed by the gift.
18. The poem can best be described as
A.
B.
C.
D.
an ode.
a ballad.
free verse.
blank verse.
OVER
-5-
Birthday Present from First Born
(pages 2 and 3 in the Readings Booklet)
INSTRUCTIONS: In paragraph form and in approximately 125 to 150 words, answer question 1 in the
space provided. Write in ink. The mark for your answer will be based on the
appropriateness of the example(s) you use as well as the adequacy of your
explanation and the quality of your written expression.
1. The poet uses the “small silver frog” as a symbol in this poem. In paragraph form and with
reference to this poem, discuss the symbolism of the “small silver frog.”
(12 marks)
-6-
Organization and Planning
1st
2nd
OVER
-7-
PART C: PROSE
Total Value: 33 marks
Suggested Time: 45 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the story entitled “A Bedtime Story” on pages 4 and 5 in the Readings
Booklet. Select the best answer for each question and record your choice on the
Response Form provided.
19. The atmosphere in paragraph 1 is one of
A.
B.
C.
D.
haste.
mystery.
annoyance.
contentment.
20. In paragraph 1, “Tara was four and a real sparkplug” is an example of
A.
B.
C.
D.
flashback.
foreshadowing.
direct presentation.
indirect presentation.
21. According to the grandfather, Nanabush can best be described as
A.
B.
C.
D.
a creator.
Santa Claus.
a storyteller.
the Spirit of Christmas.
22. In the grandfather’s story, the fish caught in the Great Spirit Lake was
A.
B.
C.
D.
blind.
bitter.
transparent.
unintelligent.
-8-
23. Nanabush decides not to eat the fish because he
A.
B.
C.
D.
can’t catch the fish.
wants to keep the fish.
won’t like the fish’s taste.
is afraid of the fish’s power.
24. The story of Nanabush is italicized to
A.
B.
C.
D.
show it is untrue.
show it is translated.
emphasize the dialogue.
emphasize the story within a story.
25. The children’s Christmas celebration will be diminished if
A.
B.
C.
D.
their mother does not return in time.
they do not finish making their gifts.
they do not get a call from their mother.
their store-bought gifts do not arrive in time.
26. In paragraph 20, the point of view of the story as a whole shifts to
A.
B.
C.
D.
objective.
omniscient.
first person.
limited omniscient.
27. Compared to George’s view of Christmas, Hope’s view can best be
described as more
A.
B.
C.
D.
innocent.
traditional.
materialistic.
sophisticated.
OVER
-9-
Organization and Planning
- 10 -
A Bedtime Story
(pages 4 and 5 in the Readings Booklet)
INSTRUCTIONS: Choose one of the following two topics and write a multi-paragraph essay of
approximately 300 words. Write in ink. The mark for your answer will be based
on the appropriateness of the example(s) you use as well as the adequacy of your
explanation and the quality of your written expression.
2a. In multi-paragraph essay form and with reference to “The Bedtime Story,” discuss conflict in
this story.
OR
2b. In multi-paragraph essay form and with reference to “The Bedtime Story,” discuss the character
of George Longarrow.
Before you begin, go to the front cover of this booklet and circle
the number corresponding to your chosen topic – Instruction 6.
(24 marks)
I have selected topic _______.
FINISHED WORK
OVER
- 11 -
FINISHED WORK
- 12 -
FINISHED WORK
1st
2nd
OVER
- 13 -
Organization and Planning
- 14 -
PART D: ORIGINAL COMPOSITION
Value: 24 marks
Suggested Time: 40 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS: Using standard English, write a coherent, unified, multi-paragraph (3 or more
paragraphs) composition of approximately 300 words on the topic below. In your
composition, you may apply any effective and appropriate method of development
which includes any combination of exposition, persuasion, description, and
narration.
Use the page headed Organization and Planning for your rough work. Write your
composition in ink on the pages headed Finished Work.
3. Write a multi-paragraph composition on the topic below. In addressing the topic, consider all
possibilities. You may draw support from the experiences of others or from any aspect of your
life: your reading and your experiences. Remember you do not have to accept the basic
premise of the statement.
Topic:
The best gifts are the simplest ones.
OVER
- 15 -
FINISHED WORK
Topic: The best gifts are the simplest ones.
- 16 -
PART B: POETRY
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following passage and answer the questions on pages 4 to 7 of the
written-response booklet.
Birthday Present from First Born
by Kit Pepper
1
5
10
15
20
25
30
In the mail today, a small silver frog—the size of a thumbnail,
no card, letter, return address. Ends of the envelope
taped back to the middle—the package fit
in the palm of my hand. I knew it was from you
as soon as I opened it.
During the first weeks you were gone
I sorted through old photographs
stopping always at our Bruce County campsite:
coffee on the Coleman, bedding draped over branches,
your tricking me—
the way I’d trick my own mother
offering her a scooped out eggshell. The difference?
she knew, each Sunday morning, how to thank me:
praising the perfect beauty of peacock or ostrich,
rare delight of giant sea turtle,
my cleverness in finding such treasures.
Then she’d take her knife, carefully
tap off the top and call me the instigator of
miraculous hatchings. Eliot gave his Prufrock
life measured in coffee spoons,
my mother gave to me, a childhood
laid out in egg-cups, Sunday morning rituals.
I think something genetic moved through you that morning
in Bruce County, on my way to the shower,
as you handed me the soap container.
There beside the campfire, I stopped,
lifted the lid. Out sprang a little frog;
landing on my chest, it left soapy webprints
like footfalls on the moon. Small wonder
frogs don’t now terrify, cause me to run
the other way as I did a week before your birth,
-2-
35
40
45
a colleague wanting to hand me a newborn—
limbs bundled, scalp throbbing—not knowing
how to hold strange creatures, I fled from
the staffroom, thinking it was a close call,
not realizing then that sometimes
what brushes us outside moves in,
takes hold in other ways. You were born; I held you.
In a single moment you became
air-breathing and I, losing all singularity
plunged, like Demeter, into another world.
Tonight, as memory and history
press into this tiny shape, I’ll phone
tell you the small silver frog
hangs from a black cord, that its webs,
spread wide in the hollow of my throat,
touch all words.
OVER
-3-
PART B: POETRY
Total Value: 20 marks
Suggested Time: 25 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the poem “High School Senior” on page 1 in the Readings Booklet. Select
the best answer for each question and record your choice on the Response Form
provided.
11. “…puff, puff, like summer / cumulus above her bed” (lines 2 and 3) is an example of
A.
B.
C.
D.
simile.
metaphor.
oxymoron.
apostrophe.
12. In this poem, the daughter is
A.
B.
C.
D.
leaving forever.
departing for college.
moving down the river.
gazing across the street.
13. The phrase, “her pure / depth of feeling,” (lines 14 and 15) implies that the daughter is
A.
B.
C.
D.
intense.
indifferent.
imaginative.
impressionable.
14. “I could not imagine / my life with her” (lines 20 and 21) suggests that the speaker was
A.
B.
C.
D.
agitated by her life.
uncertain about life as a mother.
depressed by the onset of winter.
worried about her daughter leaving.
15. “[A] column of steam” (line 23) is an example of
A.
B.
C.
D.
an image.
a paradox.
a hyperbole.
an understatement.
-4-
16. Lines 24 to 27 suggest that the speaker understands
A.
B.
C.
D.
some children don’t like their parents.
some children never want to leave home.
some parents force their children to leave.
some parents are not as fortunate as she is.
17. Lines 29 and 30 contain examples of
A.
B.
C.
D.
rhyme.
assonance.
dissonance.
onomatopoeia.
18. The main conflict in the poem is
A.
B.
C.
D.
external.
physical.
emotional.
intellectual.
OVER
-5-
High School Senior
(page 1 in the Readings Booklet)
INSTRUCTIONS: In paragraph form and in approximately 125 to 150 words, answer question 1 in the
space provided. Write in ink. The mark for your answer will be based on the
appropriateness of the example(s) you use as well as the adequacy of your
explanation and the quality of your written expression.
1. In paragraph form and with reference to the poem, discuss the feelings the speaker experiences
and the realizations she reaches.
(12 marks)
-6-
PART B: POETRY
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following passage and answer the questions on pages 4 to 7 of the
written-response booklet.
High School Senior
by Sharon Olds
1 For seventeen years, her breath in the house
at night, puff, puff, like summer
cumulus above her bed,
and her scalp smelling of apricots
5 —this being who had formed within me,
squatted like a bright tree-frog in the dark,
like an eohippus1 she had come out of history
slowly, through me, into the daylight,
I had the daily sight of her,
10 like food or air she was there, like a mother.
I say “college,” but I feel as if I cannot tell
the difference between her leaving for college
and our parting forever—I try to see
this house without her, without her pure
15 depth of feeling, without her creek-brown
hair, her daedal2 hands with their tapered
fingers, her pupils dark as the mourning cloak’s
wing,3 but I can’t. Seventeen years
ago, in this room, she moved inside me,
20 I looked at the river, I could not imagine
my life with her. I gazed across the street,
and saw, in the icy winter sun,
a column of steam rush up away from the earth.
There are creatures whose children float away
25 at birth, and those who throat-feed their young
for weeks and never see them again. My daughter
is free and she is in me—no, my love
of her is in me, moving in my heart,
changing chambers, like something poured
30 from hand to hand, to be weighed and then reweighed.
1
2
3
eohippus: a small, extinct horse, an ancestor of the modern horse
daedal: skillful; ingenious
mourning cloak’s wing: the purplish brown wing of a type of butterfly
OVER
-1-
PART B: READING COMPREHENSION
13 multiple-choice questions
Value: 16%
Suggested Time: 25 minutes
SYNTHESIS TEXT 1
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following poem, “Wordsmith,” and answer the multiple-choice questions.
For each question, select the best answer and record your choice on the Answer
Sheet provided.
Wordsmith
by Susan Young
1
5
10
15
20
25
30
1 Pollyfilla:
In my mind I call my
father the Pollyfilla1 king,
watch with something akin to awe
as he begins the arduous process
of filling in the gaps, the long winded
cracks that travel down the walls of my house
like run on sentences.
From the sidelines I watch as he
trudges up and down the stairs, carrying
with nonchalance an industrial-sized bucket,
shiny spatula tucked into back pocket
for easy access.
Over and over again
with precision and grace
he fills and smooths and sands
as filling in all of the empty crevices
with the words he didn’t know how to say,
the lost syllables and consonants springing up
from the bucket, stubbornly announcing themselves
home, until there is only smoothness,
my fifty eight year old house a perfect sentence,
the veritable sheen of its walls
privy to this father of mine,
whose love keeps him moving
from room to room, brightly asking,
Do you think you’ll be painting the other room
upstairs sometime? I could start work on it now.
Then it’ll be ready for painting later.
Yes, I say, yes,
my face aglow.
a brand name for a substance used to fill cracks in plaster walls
English 12 – 2008/09 Sample Examination
Page 7
8. What does “as he begins the arduous process / of filling in the gaps” (lines 4 and 5) suggest about the
task of repairing the house?
A.
B.
C.
D.
It was futile.
It was overwhelming.
It required a high level of skill.
It required a great deal of work.
9. What is the purpose of the italics used in lines 26–29?
A.
B.
C.
D.
to indicate speech
to provide emphasis
to serve as an epilogue
to foreshadow future events
10. Which statement best describes the character of the father?
A.
B.
C.
D.
He has high expectations of his children.
He provides a good role model for his children.
He shows more caring for his house than his family.
He demonstrates his love for his family through his work.
11. Which literary device is primarily used in the poem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
paradox
internal rhyme
personification
extended metaphor
12. Which word best describes the overall mood of the poem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
solemn
regretful
nostalgic
whimsical
13. What is the form of the poem?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Page 8
ballad
sonnet
free verse
blank verse
English 12 – 2008/09 Sample Examination
PART B: POETRY
Total Value: 20 marks
Suggested Time: 25 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the poem “Dearest Margaret” on page 1 in the Readings Booklet. Select the
best answer for each question and record your choice on the Response Form
provided.
14. Line 1, “Yes; we’ve agreed, when we grow newly old”, contains an example of
A.
B.
C.
D.
hyperbole.
oxymoron.
metonymy.
understatement.
15. In line 5, “and bleating of love,” the sound device used is
A.
B.
C.
D.
alliteration.
dissonance.
onomatopoeia.
internal rhyme.
16. Lines 18 to 20, “Indeed, we can travel / wherever we like / as long as we’re home by noon”,
suggest that the friends will
A.
B.
C.
D.
travel extensively.
have too many animals.
be dedicated to the farm.
need help looking after the farm.
17. In line 30, the speaker jokingly comments, “(We’ll write them ourselves!)”, to indicate that
A.
B.
C.
D.
their lives will be lonely.
they are content to live alone.
the mailman cannot locate them.
they will become professional writers.
18. Line 33, “unravel the prose of James Joyce”, suggests that the prose of James Joyce is
A.
B.
C.
D.
boring.
foreign.
exciting.
complex.
-6-
19. In the poem, parentheses are used to enclose
A.
B.
C.
D.
contradictions.
inconsistencies.
personal asides.
random thoughts.
20. The form of this poem is
A.
B.
C.
D.
sonnet.
free verse.
blank verse.
ballad stanza.
21. The point of view of this poem is
A.
B.
C.
D.
objective.
omniscient.
first person.
limited omniscient.
OVER
-7-
Dearest Margaret
(page 1 in the Readings Booklet)
INSTRUCTIONS: In paragraph form and in approximately 125 to 150 words, answer question 1 in the
space provided. Write in ink. The mark for your answer will be based on the
appropriateness of the example(s) you use as well as the adequacy of your
explanation and the quality of your written expression.
1. The poem expresses the speaker’s idea of a perfect lifestyle. In paragraph form and with
reference to the poem, discuss the qualities of this lifestyle.
(12 marks)
-8-
PART B: POETRY
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following passage and answer the questions on pages 6 to 9 of the
written-response booklet.
Dearest Margaret
by Eleanor Byers
1
5
10
15
20
25
30
Yes; we’ve agreed, when we grow newly old
to live side by side on your farm in Vermont
where we can raise goats
the small brown kind, following close
and bleating of love.
We’ve said we want cats, all colours of cats
to play in the shade on hot summer days,
to purr by the stove when evenings are cold.
And, Margaret, remember our plan to grow plants
with long Latin names
and prizewinning Bibb lettuce
for good-tasting salads.
You’ll make tabbouleh (you do it so well).
I’ll roast a capon (with shallots and beans).
How well we will dine
drinking mint tea or watered white wine
followed by cheese and sweet almonds.
Indeed, we can travel
wherever we like
as long as we’re home by noon
to pet the cats, feed the goats,
water the prizewinning lettuce.
When winter snow falls
we will pull on tall boots and warm, woolly coats
and slosh down our paths to the tin mailbox
by the side of the road.
To the postman we’ll offer our best apple tart
hot from the oven, with cream
in exchange for choice letters.
(We’ll write them ourselves!)
Oh, Margaret, let’s read Ulysses
(again) and this time, patient with age,
unravel the prose of James Joyce.
OVER
-1-
PART C: POETRY
Total Value: 20 marks
Suggested Time: 30 minutes
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the poem “Station” on pages 4 and 5 in the Readings Booklet. Select the best
answer for each question and record your choice on the Response Form provided.
22. Lines 11 and 12, “…entering into the light / of the world,” suggest
A.
B.
C.
D.
death.
the city.
the past.
the future.
23. The son is going to
A.
B.
C.
D.
live on his own.
join the military.
live with his mother.
attend boarding school.
24. Lines 28 to 30, “What ails our heart? Mine / aching in vain for the words / to make sense of
our life together,” reveal that the speaker is
A.
B.
C.
D.
angry.
doubtful.
resentful.
distraught.
25. Lines 32 and 33, “of my finding the words, feathered syllables / fidgeting in his throat,” contain
an example of
A.
B.
C.
D.
alliteration.
dissonance.
onomatopoeia.
rhyming couplet.
26. Lines 34 and 35, “In a sudden rush of bodies / and announcements out of the air…,” indicate
that the
A.
B.
C.
D.
train has just arrived.
train is about to leave.
father is leaving the son.
father is changing his mind.
-8-
27. In line 39, “shackles” implies
A.
B.
C.
D.
wisdom.
freedom.
captivity.
movement.
28. In addition to its literal meaning, the title suggests
A.
B.
C.
D.
social status.
a lack of purpose.
a stage in one’s life.
a lack of movement.
29. The poem is predominantly
A.
B.
C.
D.
didactic.
dramatic.
narrative.
expository.
OVER
-9-
Station
(pages 4 and 5 in the Readings Booklet)
INSTRUCTIONS: In paragraph form, answer questions 4 and 5 in the space provided. Write in ink.
The mark for your answer will be based on the appropriateness of the example(s)
you use as well as the adequacy of your explanation and the quality of your written
expression.
4. In paragraph form and with reference to the poem, discuss the poet’s use of contrast between
light and dark to illustrate the father’s mixed feelings.
(6 marks)
- 10 -
PART C: POETRY
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following poem and answer the questions on pages 8 to 11 in the
examination booklet.
Station
by Eamon Grennan
1
5
10
15
20
25
30
We are saying goodbye
on the platform. In silence
the huge train waits, crowding the station
with aftermath and longing
and all we’ve never said
to one another. He
shoulders his black bag and shifts
from foot to foot, restless to be off, his eyes
wandering over tinted windows where he’ll sit
staring out at the Hudson’s1 platinum dazzle.
I want to tell him he’s entering into the light
of the world, but it feels like a long tunnel
as he leaves one home, one parent
for another,
and we both know it won’t ever
be the same again. What is the air at,
heaping between us, then thinning
to nothing? Or those slategrey birds that
croon to themselves in an iron angle, then
take flight, inscribing
huge loops of effortless grace
between this station of shade and the shining water?
When our cheeks rest glancing against each other,
I can feel mine scratchy with beard and stubble, his
not quite smooth as a girl’s, harder, a faint fuzz
starting—those silken beginnings I can see
when the light is right, his next life
in bright first touches. What ails our heart? Mine
aching in vain for the words
to make sense of our life together, his
fluttering in dread
of my finding the words, feathered syllables
fidgeting in his throat.
1 Hudson: Hudson River
-4-
35
40
45
In a sudden rush of bodies
and announcements out of the air, he says
he’s got to be going. One quick touch
and he’s gone. In a minute
the train—ghostly faces behind smoked glass—
groans away on wheels and shackles, a slow glide
I walk beside, waving
at what I can see no longer. Later,
on his own in the city, he’ll enter the underground
and cross the river, going home
to his mother’s house: I imagine that white face
carried along in the dark glass, shining
through shadows that fill the window
and fall away again
before we’re even able to name them.
-5-