Section: Reasoning Through Language Arts A

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The word barter means exchange by trade without money. In the poem the exchange is

1. personal commitment for life’s beauty
2. a year of strife for ecstasy
3. spirit's delight for peace
4. children’s faces for wonder
5. music for a curve of gold

The poet urges the reader to “give all you have been or could be” for life’s loveliness.