Oregon Trail Poetry Center
Directions:
1. Read poem 2 times.
2. Jot down any words/lines that stand out.
3 . In your notebook, respond to one of the following questions:
2. Jot down any words/lines that stand out.
3 . In your notebook, respond to one of the following questions:
- What images do you see as you read the poem?
- What is the message presented? Why do you think that?
- Why do you think the poet wrote this poem? What are they saying about the time period?
Western Wagons by Stephen Vincent BenetThey went with axe and rifle, when the trail was still to blaze,
They went with wife and children, in the prairie-schooner days, With banjo and with frying pan—Susanna, don't you cry! For I'm off to California to get rich out there or die! We've broken land and cleared it, but we're tired of where we are. They say that wild Nebraska is a better place by far. There's gold in far Wyoming, there's black earth in Ioway, So pack up the kids and blankets, for we're moving out today! The cowards never started and the weak died on the road, And all across the continent the endless campfires glowed. We'd taken land and settled but a traveler passed by-- And we're going West tomorrow—Lordy , never ask us why! We're going West tomorrow, where the promises can't fail. O'er the hills in legions, boys, and crowd the dusty trail! We shall starve and freeze and suffer. We shall die, and tame the lands. But we're going West tomorrow, with our fortune in our hands. |
Pioneers by Lillian M. Fisher
From Hand in Hand