Green Ducks | Poetry in Focus

Poetry in Focus

By Sarojini Naidu

Lightly, O lightly we bear her along,
She sways like a flower in the wind of our song;
She skims like a bird on the foam of a stream,
She floats like a laugh from the lips of a dream.
Gaily, O gaily we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

Softly, O softly we bear her along,
She hangs like a star in the dew of our song;
She springs like a beam on the brow of the tide,
She falls like a tear from the eyes of a bride.
Lightly, O lightly we glide and we sing,
We bear her along like a pearl on a string.

Simile
1.	Simile is the comparison of two unlike things by using the words "as" or "like." An example of a simile in this poem is line two, "She sways like a flower in the wind of our song." It compares how she sways, or moves, to how a flower sways in the wind. In the poem the female character, who is only refered to as she, is compared to different things. Complete these comparisons from the poem. She floats like a She hangs like a She falls like a

2.	Although the palanquin bearers have a difficult job, they are happy in their work. The words they use to describe the female character are positive (a pearl), light (a bird) and soft (a flower). With that in mind, which of these similes might be included in the poem? She falls like a leave in the wind. She drops like a rock from the sky. She falls like a coin from a hand.

3.	The refrain, the line that is repeated at the end of each stanza, compares the female character to a pearl. Because of what we think of pearls, this comparison tells us something about the woman. It tells us that she is probably poor and ugly rich and beautiful healthy and single