MOMMA SAID Poet; Calvin Forbes

The poem had 5 stanzas 20 lines 4 lines in each stanza No rhyme scheme STRUCTURE The poem had 5 stanzas 20 lines 4 lines in each stanza No rhyme scheme

LITERARY TERMS Metaphor- When the boy is saying “The slice I want it back” he is talking about a metaphorical slice of cake which is suppose to represent a memory or a certain moment that he wants back. Simile- When the poem says “It was like a dream that makes you want to go back to sleep”, the author is comparing how a great dream makes you want to go back to sleep to continue it. Imagery- When it says “Those crumbs i swept up, i’d like my share again” i imagine someone sweeping up crumbs.

LITERAL MEANING Stanza 1 & 2- The person is wishing they could experience or savor a certain moment again. Stanza 3- They are explaining that the slice of “cake” is something special. Stanza 4- They are basically saying you can’t have something both ways. Stanza 5- This stanza is written in past tense, most likely the authors point of view. Its explaining when he was younger his mother tried to tell him he couldn’t have everything he wants, but he thought he could.

Imagery 69*6*6 ]]”The memory by itself was delicious” - He is saying that the memory was great. “] ;//[- “It’s the thought that counts, like a gift that’s not store bought” - The poet is saying that the memory is as special as a gift that someone took the time to make you rather than just buying you one.

FIGURATIVE MEANINGS “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” - This means you can’t have everything you want. “I’d like my share again, I can still taste it like it was” - This means he can still remember a memory how it was. “The memory by itself is delicious” - This means it was a good memory. “Each bite was a small miracle” - When he was still living back in that memory it was great.

AUTHOR’S PURPOSE The authors purpose is to show that you can’t have everything, that the world doesn’t work like that. In the poem he says how he wishes he savored another moment, how it was very special. Like a dream that makes you want to go back to sleep, or a gift that wasn’t store bought. Then he writes the last stanza in past tense to when he was a kid and says how he thought he could “have his cake and eat it too” but his mom says that he can’t. So he is basically explaining how his mom was right without saying those exact words.

THEME The theme is a common figure of speech, “you can’t have your cake and eat it too” which basically means you can’t have everything you want.