Question 5 of 25 • ARC English 10 Semester 2 CR/Summer
Read the poem below and answer the question that follows. “Hanging Fire”by Audre Lorde I am fourteenand my skin has betrayed methe boy I cannot live withoutstill sucks his thumbin secrethow come my knees arealways so ashywhat if I diebefore the morning comesand momma’s in the bedroomwith the door closed. I have to learn how to dancein time for the next partymy room is too small for mesuppose I die before graduationthey will sing sad melodiesbut finallytell the truth about meThere is nothing I want to doand too muchthat has to be doneand momma’s in the bedroomwith the door closed. Nobody even stops to thinkabout my side of itI should have been on Math Teammy marks were better than hiswhy do I have to bethe one wearing bracesI have nothing to wear tomorrowwill I live long enoughto grow upand momma’s in the bedroomwith the door closed. Source: Lorde, Audre. “Hanging Fire.” The Black Unicorn: Poems. New York: Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press, 1978. El Camino College. Web. 06 June 2011. Which poetic techniques are illustrated in the opening lines “I am fourteen/and my skin has betrayed me/the boy I cannot live without/still sucks his thumb/in secret”?