Question

read the poem. there are several questions about this poem. there are 26 lines in this poem. the poem is numbered every 5 lines. so much happiness it is difficult to know what to do with so much happiness. with sadness there is something to rub against, a wound to tend with lotion and cloth. when the world falls in around you, you have pieces to pick up, something to hold in your hands, like ticket stubs or change. but happiness floats. it doesnt need you to hold it down. it doesnt need anything. happiness lands on the roof of the next house, singing, and disappears when it wants to. you are happy either way. even the fact that you once lived in a peaceful tree house and now live over a quarry of noise and dust cannot make you unhappy. everything has a life of its own, it too could wake up filled with possibilities of coffee cake and ripe peaches and love even the floor which needs to be swept, the soiled linens and scratched records... since there is no place large enough select two central ideas in the poem. 1. happiness makes people feel wholly alive. 2. happiness exists independently of people. 3. happiness visits people completely by surprise. 4. people prefer experiencing happiness over sadness. 5. people can have happiness regardless of circumstances. part b select two excerpts from the poem that together support the correct central ideas from part a. 1. \something to hold in your hands\ (line 5) 2. \it doesnt need you to hold it down.\ (line 7) 3. \you once lived in a peaceful tree house\ (line 12) 4. \it too could wake up filled with possibilities of coffee cake and ripe peaches.\ (lines 16 - 17)

Explanation:

In the poem, it mentions that happiness makes people feel alive as it is a powerful emotion. Also, the line about living in different environments (peaceful tree - house and noisy quarry) and still being happy shows that people can have happiness regardless of circumstances. For Part B, "it doesn't need you to hold it down" emphasizes the free - floating nature of happiness related to the idea of it making people feel alive, and "it too could wake up filled with possibilities of coffee cake and ripe peaches" supports the idea of happiness in different circumstances.

Answer:

Part A:

1. Happiness makes people feel wholly alive.
2. People can have happiness regardless of circumstances.

Part B:

1. "It doesn't need you to hold it down." (Line 7)
2. "it too could wake up filled with possibilities of coffee cake and ripe peaches." (Lines 16 - 17)