Using the poem you just read, make one text-to-self connection, then one text-to-text connection, and lastly one text-to-world connection.

Ensure to cite the quote(s) you are using!

For Example:

1. "Quote" This quote reminds me of an experience where I ... because ... (Text to Self)

2. "Quote" I can relate this quote to another reading called "insert reading" They connect because... (Text to Text)

3. "Quote" This quote relates to the real world because ... (Text to World)

You should have a total of THREE responses, a maximum of three sentences.

love will vanish

when we are alone we are afraid

love will never return" (Lorde 33-36). I relate to this line because when I hold my relationships close to me and cherish the moments I share with my friends and family because I know that in an instant, I can lose them so I keep them all close to my heart, partly in fear of losing them.

2) "For those of us who live at the shoreline/standing upon the constant edges of decision/crucial and alone" (Lorde 1-3). This quote relates to the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald because it reminded me of how Gatsby lived across the water from his lover, Daisy, and he constantly waited for her, which ties into the "shoreline" and "alone" part, maybe even the decision as he chose to live close but far from her.

3) "and when we speak we are afraid

our words will not be heard

nor welcomed

but when we are silent

we are still afraid" (Lorde 37-41). This quote resonates with some issues women face today as we constantly feel the pressure to be perfect in a society that favors men. We are often unable to achieve that "welcomed" feeling that men can so we always have our guard up, as we are more likely to be targeted and silenced.

we may never eat again

when we are loved we are afraid

love will vanish" (Lorde, 32-35) was about the struggle of the people in Palestine and how very fleeting so many things are in their lives right now. Granted the whole poem does remind me of them but this specifically, too.

A text to text connection I made was with the line, "learning to be afraid with our mother’s milk" (Lorde,18) and the book "Women of Brewster Place" which focuses on how generational trauma is passed down unintentionally.

A text to self connection would be that lines 43-45 remind me of how I tell the people around me all the time to celebrate any win they have because the systems in place were not created for those things to happen.

2) I could relate to the quote “And when the sun rises we are afraid it might not remain/ when the sun sets we are afraid it might not rise in the morning” (Lorde 25-28) because during quarantine I remember rotting in bed (a lot). I spent most of my days just logging on to zoom and watching the sun rise and set. It was bitter-sweet watching it come and go because the sun rising felt like a friend stopping by and when it set I would be without company again in my bed.

3) “So it is better to speak remembering we were never meant to survive” (Lorde 42-44) connects to the real world because every year we are faced with issues (such as racism, genocide, abelism) that will only continue to get worse if we remain silent. As Prya and Zoeya have mentioned, the people of Palestine and women in general are targeted and silenced simply for wanting to live like everyone else. It is better we speak up and hope that others speak up as well.