Christopher Knapp wrote this poem about his last interaction as a Peace Corps volunteer in Niger, a country in Africa. To understand what Knapp hoped to say about his hosts, pay close attention to the poem’s details and structure―especially its line breaks.
Sacred
You took my hand one time only:
at our parting, which surprised you.
After thousands of words and hundreds of meals
had passed, you put my hand in yours, one time.
Your hand was sandpaper, callused and rough,
fingers fixed to curl around a plow,
nails caked with dirt from morning prayers.
It felt like home against mine.
You took my hand one time only,
before I caught the bus to leave Kornaka.
You took my hand and said “my son,
remember the telephone
is sacred.”
Christopher Knapp
If you analyze this poem, you can learn some things about Nigerian culture and also about poetry. Try answering each of these questions in your own words. Then, compare your answers to the samples at the end of the activity.
In “Sacred,” the poem’s speaker describes something that surprised both him and his host. What did they both find surprising about their last interaction?
What does the poem tell you about Nigerian culture―especially interactions between people?
Read the second stanza again. What do its details and its last line tell you about the speaker’s feelings?
How do the poem’s line breaks help surprise readers at the end? Explain what happens in the last three lines of the poem.
What does the speaker’s host mean when he says to “remember the telephone is sacred”?
| Your Responses | Sample Answers |
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The speaker’s host took his hand for the first and only time since he’d arrived in Niger. |
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Shaking hands―and other forms of physical touch―may be uncommon, perhaps even among friends. |
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He already knows that he is going to miss Niger and his host family, and realizes that Kornaka has come to feel like home to him. |
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He means that staying in touch with the people you care about is sacred―not the actual device you use to call someone. In other words, relationships are sacred. |
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Good people choose to do what’s right even when it’s difficult—they keep their promises in ways that help them stay true to themselves. |
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