Question

what does the poem Testimonial by Rita Dove mean ?

Answer 1

Is this the poem?


Back when the earth was new
and heaven just a whisper,
back when the names of things
hadn't had time to stick;

back when the smallest breezes
melted summer into autumn,
when all the poplars quivered
sweetly in rank and file . . .

the world called, and I answered.
Each glance ignited to a gaze.
I caught my breath and called that life,
swooned between spoonfuls of lemon sorbet.

I was pirouette and flourish,
I was filigree and flame.
How could I count my blessings
when I didn't know their names?

Back when everything was still to come,
luck leaked out everywhere.
I gave my promise to the world,
and the world followed me here.

Answer 2

yeah

Answer 3

She explains in the beginning of her poem “Back when the earth was new” this is her way of saying when she was a child and naïve to the world. She then follows onto the next phrase, “Back when the names of things hadn’t had time to stick” which means that she was so vulnerable and young she could not yet make sense of her surroundings. Her next stanza explains how her child hood flew by and she was growing up quickly. An example of this would be when she writes, “When the smallest breezes melted summer into autumn (Dove, Rita).” As she proceeds to write “When all the poplars quivered sweetly in rank and file…” I believe she meant as children get older they come to a point where they must grow up and move to the next stage of their life. Even though they are scared to grow up in which she used the word quivered to reference how scared she was. The poplar tree was chosen because it is fast growing, with a strong route system. She was young and quick to grow up however she was strong deep down inside and knew she had the ability to accomplish a lot.

source: http://ritadove.blogspot.com/p/testimonial.html

Answer 4

how does the Poem connect to the author ?

Answer 5

the author is explaining what life was like for her as a child

Answer 6

then she got older and things changed