“Girl,” “Boys,” “From Persian Parables

Description

“Girl,” “Boys,” “From Persian Parables

From Persian Parables,” by Aleksander Wat

By great, swift waters

on a stony bank

a human skull lay shouting

Allah la ilah.

And in that shout such horror

and such supplication

so great was its despair

that I asked the helmsman:

What is there left to cry for? Why is it still afraid?

What divine judgment could strike it again?

Suddenly a rising wave

took hold of the skull

and tossing it about

smashed it against the bank.

Nothing is ever over

–the helmsman’s voice was hollow–

and there is no bottom to evil.

1. In “Girl,” who is receiving advice and who responds to the advice-giver? How do you know?

2. Write your own piece, modeled after “Girl,” in which one entity gives advice and another speaks back to the advice-giver. Try to emulate the punctuation style of “Girl,” and be sure it is one, long sentence.

3. The final line of “Boys” reads: “Boys, no longer boys, exit.” How does this line encapsulate everything that has come before it?

4. Look up the definition of parable. With this definition in mind, reflect upon how Alexander Wat’s poem fits this definition.