A Pioneer Woman Looks Back [2000]
Bobbi Katz (1933-)
MARY STAHLER
Kansas, 1874
“Free for the taking. At that price, YOU can buy . . . a garden in the West . . . endless land and endless sky!”
We were just newlyweds.
John said, “It seems best
to grow with the country—
raise our family out West,”
We were young. We were strong.
How were we to know
land and sky could be cruel?
We got ready to go.
I smiled through my tears
as our loved ones waved good-bye.
We crossed
the Mississippi
for
endless land . . . endless sky . . .
The trail was rough
and the going was tough.
The prairies of Kansas
were far West enough.
John staked out our claim
one hot day in July,
as I waited and I watched—
endless land . . . endless sky . . .
Young John was born
early that fall.
next came Mary,
then Elizabeth . . .
nine kids in all.
I schooled the children.
Town was too far away.
There were so many chores
to fi t into a day!
Cooking, sewing, laundry—
and much more to do.
Yet somehow I found time
to be lonely, too:
The endless droning of the wind,
a lone coyote’s call,
the chatter of the children,
no visitors at all.
I longed to see a woman—
to hear a woman’s voice.
Instead, I hear winds whisper:
Free land! You made a choice.
Often I wonder.
and I can’t help but sigh—
What price we really paid
for
endless land . . . endless sky . . .
Questions for Discussion
1. Reread these lines from the poem:
The endless droning of the wind,
a lone coyote’s call,
the chatter of the children,
no visitors at all.
In this excerpt, the word droning refers to a
A) sound.
B) feeling.
C) movement.
D) power.
2. The reader is able to understand the speaker in the poem by reading what
A) she does to care for her family.
B) her family does every day.
C) her family says about her actions.
D) she says about her experiences
3. Which literary element has the strongest effect on the meaning of the poem?
A) the sad tone as Mary describes her experiences
B) foreshadowing the diffi culties Mary would face
C) the irony of free land causing emotional distress
D) flashback to the diffi culty of leaving family behind
4. Reread these lines from the poem:
Instead, I hear winds whisper:
Free land! You made a choice.
The author personifies the wind as whispering to the speaker in order to
A) exaggerate the noisiness of the prairie.
B) portray the setting as an antagonist.
C) compare the winds to a member of the family.
D) emphasize the reason for moving to the prairie.
5. The repetition of “endless land . . . endless sky” throughout the poem serves to
A) create a calm mood for the reader.
B) explain how magnificent the setting seems to the narrator.
C) remind the reader of the subject of the poem.
D) emphasize the inescapable feeling of isolation in the prairie.
6. What kind of conflict is the speaker experiencing in the poem?
A) person vs. self
B) person vs. person
C) person vs. technology
D) person vs. environment
7. Which phrase from the poem helps to place its setting before the twentieth century?
A) going was tough
B) staked out our claim
C) so many chores
D) longed to see
8. How did the idea of westward expansion in a growing country affect the Stahlers?
A) They were enticed to leave family behind to settle new territory.
B) Because of the dangers of prairie life, they experienced many hardships.
C) They were prepared for the constant adventures they found in Kansas.
D) Because many were moving, they were with people who had common goals.