Blog # 2: HOLY SONNET X

                     
                 http://mccgd.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/green-funerals-green-resting-place.jpg


In class we are learning to analyze poems. This week's assignment was to choose a poem that stood out to us and I chose John Donne's Holy Sonnet X:

HOLY SONNETS.

X.
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so ;
For those, whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy picture[s] be,
Much pleasure, then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'rt slave to Fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke ;  why swell'st thou then ?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And Death shall be no more ;  Death, thou shalt die.

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Created by Anniina Jokinen on October 20, 1999. Last updated on September 8, 2003.

    

        This poem stands out to me the most because I have been a person that has feared death and has mourned for the loss of my best friend Victoria May Chin  (1985-2007). I  have never come across a poem with so much depth. I too at many points of my life have given death such a powerful force, and never looked at dying as a gateway towards eternal life. I do not wish to offend anyone with my religious view, but for me the thought of dying and then waking up in eternal life with the ones we love and have lost is a consolation to me. I've always believed in God and Heaven and I hope that when the time comes I too will be reunited with the people I care for. The message of this poem to me is that even though death may come to take away someone we care for, the thought of the power that death holds can be taken away in an instant as soon as it is compared to sleep. Sleep is just a moment of peace that everyone must have in order to live. So if death can be seen as sleep a peaceful feeling, the darkness behind it seems to fade away. The reason for this is because anyone that sleeps must awake, and therefore awaking in eternity is actually a reassuring feeling. Death too will die because those that have been taken will no longer fear death again. Death shall cease to exist so it doesn't matter in which way we go, as long as when we wake death will be no more. 

     The reason why I choose this image to go with my blog is because the setting is a cemetery. We all know that cemeteries are where the dead are buried.  Although it is a sad place to be, the way the sunlight is shining behind the tree shows life. If you look closely it's almost as if the rays provide a path towards the sky, and to me that reminded me how death is a portal to eternity; as the light can symbolize the Heavens above ready to receive the ones that have passed away. Another reason is because there is a big tree which provides oxygen for all of us that are still alive, and oxygen is vital for our lives to continue on.

     The person that I would send this poem to would be my bestfriend's family. The reason why I would send it to them is because I would like them to see that life although it continues without her, eventually we will come face to face with death and I wouldn't want them to be afraid. Instead I want them to embrace the peaceful sleep that will reunite them with their daughter, sister, niece, and granddaughter. I hope that with this new found metaphor of eternal life it makes the process of coping with their loss easier. And that like for me it gives them some kind of closure because I know now that this is only temporary....