Interpreting Poetry
Denied
By Shameka Byrd
Jeremy and I were not dating,
which was plain enough to see,
but I liked to be around him
and he liked to be with me.
But yesterday at the mall,
he was acting really vague.
You’d have thought he didn’t know me.
You’d have thought I had the plague.
And when his friends came up to us,
he almost tried to hide me.
I can’t believe that dirty rat
just stood there and denied me.
Now every time I think of him,
I feel a little chill.
Oh no, I never dated him.
And now? I never will!
Purpose: To draw a conclusion about how the author feels about the person who
“denied” her.
CLUES
from
TEXT
+
YOUR
OWN
IDEAS
=
NEW
IDEA
(Inference)
TDQs….
What word/phrase did the author use to describe her feelings? What does this
word choice make you infer?
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Did the author’s feelings change? Support your answer with evidence from the
text.
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Add 2 TDQs of your own!
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Summary:
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