Welsh writing in English Choose a task Choose a task based on the poem. Activity A Activity C Activity EActivity F Activity D Activity B Wild Cherry – by Nigel Jenkins – Glossary

Welsh writing in English Who is involved in this poem? Activity A Look for the pronouns – words like I, you, us. Menu Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there were words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. Welsh writing in English Wild Cherry – by Nigel Jenkins –

Welsh writing in English What is the setting for the first stanza? Activity B Menu Welsh writing in English Wild Cherry – by Nigel Jenkins – Where is he? Why is he on ‘Tiptoe’? If you are on tiptoe on top of a wall, how safe are you? What does ‘reached for’ imply? Can you suggest any possible reasons for the strange line endings: ‘in / clouds’; ‘I / reached’; ‘the / flounciest’? Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there were words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news.

Welsh writing in English Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there were words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. Why is he gathering wild cherry sprays? Activity C Menu Welsh writing in English Wild Cherry – by Nigel Jenkins – What are his feelings to the ‘you’ of the poem? What might ‘head in / clouds’ suggest? What do the words ‘fullest’ and ‘flounciest’ suggest about the way he is choosing the sprays? What does ‘travelled / many miles’ imply?

Welsh writing in English What does the second stanza suggest about the thoughts and feelings of the ‘you’/ the woman? Activity D Menu Welsh writing in English Wild Cherry – by Nigel Jenkins – Consider some of the following: ‘placed them / in a jar’; ‘smiling’; ‘beauty between us’; ‘white clouds of words…’ What is the effect of the repetition of ‘between us’? Does the second use have the same feeling? Is the repetition of ‘white’ and ‘clouds’ from the first stanza significant? Is the repetition of ‘words’ significant? Does the second use have the same feeling as the first? How far is it possible to tell what (she) is feeling? Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there were words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news.

Welsh writing in English What does the third stanza suggest about the thoughts and feelings of the man/poet/persona? Activity E Menu Welsh writing in English Wild Cherry – by Nigel Jenkins – Consider some of the following: ‘One of the sprays I’d kept myself’; ‘I’ll know on what morning /… you / toss out the twigs; with the ashes / and empties, yesterday’s news.’ What is implied by choosing the verb ‘toss out’? What are the associations of the noun ‘ashes’? Why do you think the poet chooses to end the poem with ‘yesterday’s news’? Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there were words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news.

Welsh writing in English Do you think this is the end of a relationship or just a one-sided relationship? Or something else? Activity F Menu Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there were words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. Welsh writing in English Wild Cherry – by Nigel Jenkins – How far can you tell?

Welsh writing in English Glossary Menu Wild Cherry Tiptoe on wall-top, head in clouds of white blossom, I reached for the fullest, the flounciest sprays, I travelled many miles to give you them. You placed them, smiling, in a jar on your table, and there was beauty between us, between us too there were words, white clouds of words… One of the sprays I’d kept myself, and I’ll know on what morning you brush up the petals, you toss out the twigs with the ashes and empties, yesterday’s news. Welsh writing in English Wild Cherry – by Nigel Jenkins – with one’s head in the clouds = preoccupied with one’s own thoughts thought to be the most ornamental of our native broadleaf woodland trees frilly small branch of a tree or plant which has delicate leaves and flowers growing on it to throw away or discard casually or carelessly Click on the highlighted words to show their meaning