Worksheet: Analyzing the Poem and the Article, P1 Hello Learner! Maya Angelou wrote a poem entitled “A Brave and Startling Truth” which explores the earth’s journey and the relationship it has with the humans who live upon it. In her poem, the idea of peace is shown as a choice that each human makes in his or her own time. She shows her readers that there is power in choice, and she urges humans to be brave and choose to be powerful agents for change. You are going to read the poem “A Brave and Startling Truth” which is found in the Introduction section of The Carbon Almanac. As you read the poem, consider the themes: Peace, Power of Choice, and Truth. As a global citizen, Maya Angelou sees you as a powerful being, able to bring about great change. Do you see yourself this way? Think about how your day went yesterday. There is no telling how many choices you made in total, but you can probably recall quite a few. 1. List three or four choices that you can recall from yesterday in the box below. Now, read the poem “A Brave and Startling Truth.” 2. Take a moment and review the stanzas, looking for references of the earth. How does the speaker, Maya Angelou, describe the planet? 3. Consider the language Angelou uses to describe the earth. In your own words, write a sentence that sums up how she portrays the earth in this poem. 4. In the sixth and seventh stanza, Angelou writes of the ‘wonders of the world’ and mentions speci昀椀c landmarks. In the box below, list three of these ‘wonders.’ 5. Why does Maya Angelou say at the end of stanza 7 that “These are not the only wonders of the world”? What does she want the reader to realize? Include the line in the last stanza of the poem that answers this question. 9