CCSS

R.1, R.2, R.4, R.5, L.4, L.5

A Minor Bird

Shutterstock.com

I have wished a bird would fly away, 

And not sing by my house all day; 


Have clapped my hands at him from the door 

When it seemed as if I could bear no more. 


The fault must partly have been in me. 

The bird was not to blame for his key. 


And of course there must be something wrong 

In wanting to silence any song. 

Bettmann Archive/Getty Images

About the Poet

Robert Frost (1874-1963) was a famous American poet. He is best known for his poems about life in the New England countryside. 

clapped my hands

What happens when you clap your hands at a bird?

minor

“Minor” means small or not important. It’s also a musical term: Songs in a minor key often sound sad or gloomy.

In wanting to

What does the speaker realize at the end of the poem?

key

“Key” is a musical term. Here it means the way the bird’s song sounds.

Skills Sheets (1)
Text-to-Speech