I Dream Of Spices (Poem)

Poem: I Dream of Spices

Poet: Raj Arumugam

Poem

My mother would say:
“Little boy Raj…
Go to Muthu’s
and get some
cinnamon, betel leaves
and ginger and garlic.”

And so I go to the shops
singing all the way
and when Muthu asks me
what I’d want
I rattle off a list:
“Sesame seeds, onions
tomatoes and pickles”

And back home,
Mother twists my ears
Ouch!

Glossary

• cinnamon – the bark of a tree that gives a delicious flavour to food
• garlic – a small bulb with a strong taste used in cooking
• rattle off – recite quickly
• sesame seeds – gingelly seeds
• ouch – sound that expresses pain

Read and Understand

A. Answer the following questions.

1. Who is Raj?
2. Where did Raj’s mother send him?
3. Who is Muthu?
4. What did mother ask Raj to buy?
5. What did Raj buy?

B. Choose the correct answers.

1. Mother called _______.
   - a. Muthu
   - b. Raj
   - c. Ram

2. Mother did not ask for _______.
   - a. cinnamon
   - b. cardamom
   - c. betel leaves

3. Raj did not buy _______.
   - a. onions and sesame
   - b. ginger and garlic
   - c. tomato and pickles

Appreciating the Poem

C. Find an example of alliteration in the poem.

Alliteration is repetition of the consonant at the beginning of two or more words in a line.
Example: Mother twists my ears.

D. Listen to the poem read by your teacher.

Read the poem aloud in pairs. One person reads out Raj’s words and the other reads the mother’s. Take turns and read.

E. Tell the story of the poem in three or four sentences with the help of the pictures given below.

Writing

F. Read the jumbled lines from the poem and rearrange them in correct order.

1. cinnamon, betel leaves
2. and ginger and garlic”
3. Go to Muthu’s
4. My mother would say:
5. and get some
6. “Little boy Raj…
7. And so I go to the shops
8. singing all the way
9. tomatoes and pickles”
10. “Sesame seeds, onions
11. I rattle off a list:
12. what I’d want
13. and when Muthu asks me
14. Mother twists my ears
15. and back home
16. ouch!

G. Fill in the blanks with different words and write your own poem.

Your title for the poem: ______

My _ would say:
“Little boy/girl __
Go to __
and get some
_, _
_ and ______”

And so I go to the _
___ all the way
and when _ asks me
what I want
I rattle off a list:
“__, _
_ and ______”

And back home,
__ twists my ears
Ouch!

Practice Practice Exercises

1. Who is Raj?

2. Where did Raj’s mother send him?

3. Who is Muthu?

4. What did mother ask Raj to buy?

5. What did Raj buy?

1. Mother called

2. Mother did not ask for

3. Raj did not buy

Your title for the poem:

My would say:

“Little boy/girl

Go to

,

and ”

And so, I go to the

all the way

and when asks me

twists my ears