1. Do you think it is possible that we spend too much time trying to catalogue Why do we do this, in your opinion?
2. Do you think we always remember the past accurately, or is it possible that we see it through rose-tinted glasses?
COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING 1. Where and when is this poem set? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
2. What do you think the poet means when she writes: ‘Things are getting ready/ to happen/ out of sight?’
3. Where in this poem do you think the poet appeals to our senses? Support your answer with quotation from the poem.
4. Which image from this poem do you like the most? Explain your choice.
5. ‘Although “This Moment” is a short poem, it is full of detail.’ Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Support your answer with reference to the poem.
6. How do you think the poet is feeling in this poem? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
7. your answer.
8. Compare and contrast this poem, set in suburbia, with ‘White Hawthorn in the West of Ireland’, set in the West of Ireland.
CREATING
1. Write a personal essay in which you explore the most memorable moments in your life so far.
2. You are a neighbour of Boland’s and have observed the scene described in this poem. Write the text of an email that you might send to a friend describing what you saw.
3. You have joined the Residents’ Association of a suburban housing estate. Write the text of the
you would distribute throughout the neighbourhood with advice on how to be a good neighbour.