Aren’t you cold and won’t you freeze,
With branches bare, you winter trees?
You’ve thrown away your summer shift.
Your autumn gold has come adrift.
Dearie me, you winter trees,
What strange behaviour if you please!
In summer, you could wear much less,
But come the winter, you undress!

(Zoltán Zelk / Hungary)

Discussion Points:

1. Is this poem in free verse?
2. If not, is it an example of ___ poetry?
3. What word rhymes with ‘trees?’
4. In summer, the trees are covered in ___.
5. In winter, the trees___ their leaves.
6. When this happens, the trees are ___.
7. Did you enjoy the poem?
8. If so, why?
9. One of the words below does NOT rhyme with ‘tree?’ Which one is it?
   Bee, flee, key, sea, fly, see, tea, disagree, guarantee, free, knee.
10. Can you think of another title for this poem?
11. The person who writes poems is a ___.
12. Kabir and Ghalib were both ___.
13. Please look up Kabir on the Internet. Please find and translate one of Kabir’s couplets (dohas) into English.

Audio courtesy Tara Kriplani