Well you get it for being Jewish And you get it for being black Get it for being chicken And you get it for fi ghting back You get it for being big and fat Get it for being small Oh those who get it get it and get it For any damn thing at all
Sometimes they take a beetle, tear off its six legs one by one Beetle on its black back, rocking in the lunchtime sun But a beetle can’t beg for mercy, a beetle’s not half the fun I heard a deep voice talking, it had that iceberg sound ‘It prepares them for Life’ – but I have never found Any place in my life worse than The Killing Ground.
1. Write a sentence beginning, ‘In this poem, I noticed that ...’ Share your answer with a classmate or your class. Make a note of any interesting observations you hear.
2. Find one example of alliteration and one example of assonance in this poem.
3. The poem refers to the ‘Killing Ground’, which makes the playground sound like a war zone. What other war imagery is there in the poem?
4. One of the themes of this poem is bullying. What do you think the poet is saying about bullying?
5. The poet says that he heard a voice saying ‘It prepares them for Life’ – what is the voice referring to here? Do you agree with this idea?
6. Complete these sentences by choosing the appropriate words from the list as you see it. Back up your answer with a quote and brief explanation.
a. The poet still thinks about his school days ■ fondly
