PRE-READING 1. How would you describe what it is like to be a teenager in contemporary Ireland?
2. Is it important to remember the wrongs of the past, or do you think we should focus more on the present and the future?
3. Can we always trust in government, or do those in power ever make mistakes, whether intentionally or otherwise?
COMPREHENDING AND RESPONDING
1. How many speakers do you think there are in lines 1–9 of the poem? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
2. Lines 10–15 evidence that these veterans of the American Civil War are trying to claim their unpaid army pensions. Were you surprised by this? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
3. Lines 17–26 give us some sense of the suffering endured by the veterans. How did you feel reading these lines? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
4. Why do you think Smith included lines 27–32 in the poem? Do you think they are important? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
5. ‘The black soldiers who served in the Union Army were not always educated or even literate, due to not having been provided with an education. It is clear that some of their superiors took unfair advantage of this.’ From reading lines 33–46, do you agree or disagree with this statement? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
6. Do you agree with the mother’s claim in lines 44–46? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
7. Why do you think Smith concludes this poem in the way that she does? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
8. Compare this poem to ‘The Greatest Personal Privation’ under the following headings: theme, tone, history and use of language.
9. What theme or themes can you identify in this poem? Refer to the poem in support of your answer.
CREATING
1. Using words, phrases and/or sentences from the Smith poems in this chapter, try to create your own ‘found’ poem that carries a message you think is important.
2. You have found an interesting old letter in a second-hand shop. Write the text of this letter.
3. ‘What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet’. Write a blog post in response to this quotation from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet about the importance of using the correct names and pronouns when communicating with and referring to others.