“The Waste Land”
by T. S. Eliot


April is the cruelest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.


5
Winter kept us warm, covering

Earth in forgetful snow, feeding

A little life with dried tubers.

Tubers are roots; what might these symbolize to the speaker?
1. an aging body
2. hope
3. poverty
4. success