Welsh writing in in English Choose a task

Welsh writing in in English Choose a task Wild Cherry – by Nigel Jenkins – Choose a task based on the poem. Activity A Activity B Activity C Activity D Activity E Activity F Glossary

Welsh writing in in English Wild Cherry Activity A – by Nigel Jenkins – Who is involved in this poem? Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. Menu Look for the pronouns – words like I, you, us.

Welsh writing in in English Wild Cherry Activity B – by Nigel Jenkins – What is the setting for the first stanza? Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. Menu Where is he? Why is he on ‘Tiptoe’? If you are on tiptoe on top of a wall, how safe are you? What does ‘reached for’ imply? Can you suggest any possible reasons for the strange line endings: ‘in / clouds’; ‘I / reached’; ‘the / flounciest’?

Welsh writing in in English Wild Cherry Activity C – by Nigel Jenkins – Why is he gathering wild cherry sprays? Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. Menu What are his feelings to the ‘you’ of the poem? What might ‘head in / clouds’ suggest? What do the words ‘fullest’ and ‘flounciest’ suggest about the way he is choosing the sprays? What does ‘travelled / many miles’ imply?

Welsh writing in in English Wild Cherry Activity D – by Nigel Jenkins – What does the second stanza suggest about the thoughts and feelings of the ‘you’/ the woman? Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. Menu Consider some of the following: ‘placed them / in a jar’; ‘smiling’; ‘beauty between us’; ‘white clouds of words…’ What is the effect of the repetition of ‘between us’? Does the second use have the same feeling? Is the repetition of ‘white’ and ‘clouds’ from the first stanza significant? Is the repetition of ‘words’ significant? Does the second use have the same feeling as the first? How far is it possible to tell what (she) is feeling?

Welsh writing in in English Wild Cherry Activity E – by Nigel Jenkins – What does the third stanza suggest about the thoughts and feelings of the man/poet/persona? Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. Menu Consider some of the following: ‘One of the sprays I’d kept myself’; ‘I’ll know on what morning /… you / toss out the twigs; with the ashes / and empties, yesterday’s news. ’ What is implied by choosing the verb ‘toss out’? What are the associations of the noun ‘ashes’? Why do you think the poet chooses to end the poem with ‘yesterday’s news’?

Welsh writing in in English Activity F Wild Cherry – by Nigel Jenkins – Do you think this is the end of a relationship or just a one-sided relationship? Or something else? Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. How far can you tell? Menu

Welsh writing in in English Wild Cherry Glossary – by Nigel Jenkins – Click on the highlighted words to show their meaning thought to be the most ornamental of our native broadleaf woodland trees frilly to throw away or discard casually or carelessly Menu Wild Cherry Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. with one’s head in the clouds = preoccupied with one’s own thoughts small branch of a tree or plant which has delicate leaves and flowers growing on it