![]() ![]() The world does not end, even though it feels like it should. When someone you love dies, it's impossible to comprehend all the happy people still living their lives, untouched by the pain of grief. In this poem, the speaker wants the world to end, now that his beloved is gone. Quite the opposite of the speaker in "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep," this speaker can't accept the loss of a loved one. Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood įor nothing now can ever come to any good. The stars are not wanted now put out every one, I thought that love would last forever, I was wrong. He was my North, my South, my East and West, Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves. Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public doves, Scribbling in the sky the message He is Dead, Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,īring out the coffin, let the mourners come. Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone. Grief visits again and again, but becomes manageable over time. When someone we loved deeply passes away, it's a life-altering event. Seeing the hearse dampens her mood: "And the morning somehow seemed less smiling and gay" and she briefly revisits her own journey through loss.ĭeath touches the lives of us all. She feels empathy for the mother of the recently deceased child: "That but in the breast of a mother can flow." Her past loss allows her to deeply relate to the newly bereaved mother, even though she does not know the woman who shares the same type of loss. The speaker in Wilcox's poem sees a funeral procession for a baby, and returns to her own grief. When subsequent deaths occur, many people re-experience their own past loss, even if it's years later. Though many people move on from bereavement toward a state of acceptance, their grief remains a part of them. "The Little White Hearse" is a heartbreaking poem about the nature of grief. That but in the breast of a mother can flow įor the little white hearse has been, too, at my door. While I paused on the crossing I lived it once more,Īnd back to my heart surged that river of woe I know not her name, but her sorrow I know In the little white hearse that went rumbling by. The baby that rode to its long-lasting sleep Under the coffin lid-out through the door Īll through the glory of summer-sun light įor the dearly bought baby she longed so to keep, With kisses as hot as the eyelids were cold. The empty white hearse from the grave rumbled back,Īnd the morning somehow seemed less smiling and gayĪs I paused on the walk while it crossed on its way,Īnd a shadow seemed drawn o'er the sun's golden track.Īnd the soft little hands were crossed over the breast,Īnd those hands and the lips and the eyelids were pressed "The Little White Hearse" by Ella Wheeler Wilcox The loss of a loved one is a sad, somber occasion, but there's comfort in knowing that death continues to contribute to the beauty of life.ģ. Though we don't normally recommend suppressing the pain of bereavement, Frye's poem reminds us that death is a natural end of all organic creatures on earth, including humans. Sharing an optimistic message about death for bereaved survivors is a beautiful way to show the living that they are allowed to grieve, but they are also allowed to move on. This perspective can be helpful for those left to mourn-it's soothing to know that the deceased person wasn't anxious about passing away. We're shown a unique narrator who is deeply at peace with his own inevitable demise. "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep" rejects sorrow in bereavement, instead comparing the dispersal of soul to earth's greatest natural phenomena. The speaker shares his spiritual beliefs, saying that the dead become part of the earth. This poem tackles the sorrow of grief directly, urging his survivors not to weep for him when he is gone. "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep" by Mary Elizabeth Frye The fact that it can slip away so easily makes it rare, and precious.Ģ. "Nothing gold can stay," but life is still invaluable. Life is fragile, fleeting and impermanent, but it is still beautiful. It's valuable to revisit these lines when questioning the value of life, knowing that it must always end in death. Because of this novel's inclusion in English curriculums across the United States, most people are familiar with this poem. "Nothing Gold Can Stay" by Robert Frostįrost's well known 1923 poem is oft-taught in school classrooms, because it is heavily referenced in the coming of age novel, S.E. Here are 4 poems that can give you a fresh perspective on a recent loss.ġ. (Shutterstock)įinding comfort in the words of the wise is a great strategy for coping with grief. There are many poems that explore themes of death and bereavement, but these four really get grief right. ![]()
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