Time You Old Gipsy Man! : English-6th - Poem 7 - Tulip Series

Time You Old Gipsy Man! : English-6th - Poem 7 - Tulip Series

Poem 7: Time You Old Gipsy Man! (Ralph Hodgson)

Time, you old gipsy man,

Will you not stay,

Put up your caravan

Just for one day?

All things I’ll give you,

Will you be my guest?

Bells for your jennet

Of silver the best.

Goldsmiths shall beat you

A great golden ring,

Peacocks shall bow to you,

Little boys sing.

Oh, and sweet girls will

Festoon you with may.

Time, you old gipsy;

Why hasten away?

THINKING ABOUT THE POEM

Answer these questions:

Q1. Why do you think the poet calls time the ‘old gipsy man’?

Ans. The poet calls time the ‘old gipsy man’ because the gipsy man keeps on travelling in caravans. Time also keeps on passing and does not stop anywhere.

Q2. What request does the poet make to time?

Ans. Poet requests time to stop his caravan for one day for him as a guest so that he could give him special gifts.

Q3. What will happen if time becomes the poet’s guest?

Ans. If time becomes the poet’s guest, the poet will honour him with many things. He will give him bells of silver for his horse, the goldsmith will make a golden ring, peacocks shall bow with honour, little boys will sing and sweet girls will decorate him with flowers of the hawthorn tree.

Q4. The poet is not the only one who honours time. There are others also who honour it. Who are they? What will they gift to time?

Ans. Goldsmith will honour him with a golden ring, peacocks will bow with honour, little boys will sing and sweet girls will festoon him with may flowers.

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Q5. Who will sing to time?

a. sweet girls

b. little boys

c. peacocks

Ans. (b) Little boys

Q6. What will goldsmiths make for time?

a. A necklace

b. A ring

c. A silver ring

d. A golden ring

Ans. (d) A golden ring

Q7. Explain “Festoon with may”.

Ans. ‘Festoon with may’ means to decorate a room or a place for a special occasion with the flowers of the hawthorn tree. Here in the poem, the poet means to say that the sweet girls will decorate the time with may flowers. (May: flowers of hawthorn tree)

Q8. Choose a partner and discuss with him/her why you would/would not like to be a gipsy.

Ans.

Aamir: Umar, what do you know about gipsy?

Umar: Yes, it is a person who keeps on travelling.

Aamir: Do know anything about his home?

Umar: A gipsy keeps on wandering. It does not have any home.

Aamir: Would you like to be a gipsy?

Umar: Yes, I like travelling to different places. Like a Gipsy, I want to see the beauty of nature.

Aamir: Ok, it depends upon the choice and taste of the life of a person, but truly I would not like to lead the life a person who keeps on wandering place to place.

Q9. Those people who never waste time succeed in their lives. Do you believe in keeping time in whatever you do in life? Write a short paragraph about how you spend the day from morning till evening.

Ans. It is well said that ‘Time and tide wait for none’. So, we should make the best use of time. We should not put our work to do it tomorrow. Our experts have said, “Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today”. You may have seen in your school the teachers make a time table to make the best use of the hours that are spent in the school so that to teach you each subject on time. We should not waste our time in false deeds and works. Time keeps on passing, so make your time useful in such deeds so that it will be fruitful for you one day.

I have made a time table at my home, that I use every day. I wake up early in the morning, go to the bathroom for ablution. I offer my prayers till the sunrise. During this time, I also recite the Holy Quran and pray to Almighty Allah for His blessings on me. Then I have Nun Chai and prepare for school. I go to school and spent six hours there. After four o’clock, I come to my home directly and without wasting my time I begin my homework assignments. Then I have Nun Chai again at five o’clock. I play for half an hour, watch the news on TV and after offering prayers I have my dinner. At ten o’clock I go to bed so that to wake up early in the morning, because I know ‘Early to bed early to rise, makes a man healthy wealthy and wise’.

Q10. Your terminal examinations are very close. Make a timetable for yourself allocating time for different subjects. Do not forget to keep some time to rest and play too.

Ans. Do it yourself at home.