Many times, when reading poetry, it is necessary to re-read a poem several times to understand the meaning. Re-read the stanza below from the poem. Think about each word and how the words are joined together. Look at the punctuation. Don’t stop at the end of a line, but read through stopping only for commas and periods. Discuss how your thoughts on the poem changed as you read the stanza several times. catching the music in their leaves
like gold-dust, till each big leaf sags.
Unceasingly the little flags
feed their limp stripes into the air,
and the band’s efforts vanish there.
that pausing at the punctuation and not at the end of each line changes the rhythm of the poem, which changes the emotional impact of the poem.