This piece made me think of a conversation I had with an excellent friend and mentor of mine (https://tomshawwritings.substack.com/p/from-the-archive-overcoming-lifes) and how we as a society are no longet well prepared for the idea of death and our own demise. It seems like its become nornal to end up on our deathbeds full of regrets and wishes of all the things we ought to have done, hence a fear of death in the hope we can get just a little more life to do the things our heart calls us to do. That said, the current circumstance does create for some powerful poetry - this piece included, and poems like Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight also come to mind. I wonder, will we lose access to works like this if we do find a way to a more healthy relationship with death?
Ummm. Good question. I think that we won't, because we do not just write poetry about the things we fear or despise. We also write poetry about the things we love and like. Perhaps if death becomes a good friend of ours, we might just be able to write powerful poems about how we wish for it to come and greet us. It's sort of like when artists (of all sorts) have toxic or tricky relationships, they find themselves create marvelous pieces that showcase heartbreak and grief, but then when they do find peace and love, they create wonders as well. It also sort of depends on the person. What do you think?
It's a good point. There is also the grief of having others close to us pass (e.g. for Dylan Thomas), so even if we do not fear death ourselves, it may still be a struggle to come to terms with the death of others. And, as you point out, we'll never be short of other topics to write poems about 😅
This piece made me think of a conversation I had with an excellent friend and mentor of mine (https://tomshawwritings.substack.com/p/from-the-archive-overcoming-lifes) and how we as a society are no longet well prepared for the idea of death and our own demise. It seems like its become nornal to end up on our deathbeds full of regrets and wishes of all the things we ought to have done, hence a fear of death in the hope we can get just a little more life to do the things our heart calls us to do. That said, the current circumstance does create for some powerful poetry - this piece included, and poems like Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight also come to mind. I wonder, will we lose access to works like this if we do find a way to a more healthy relationship with death?
Ummm. Good question. I think that we won't, because we do not just write poetry about the things we fear or despise. We also write poetry about the things we love and like. Perhaps if death becomes a good friend of ours, we might just be able to write powerful poems about how we wish for it to come and greet us. It's sort of like when artists (of all sorts) have toxic or tricky relationships, they find themselves create marvelous pieces that showcase heartbreak and grief, but then when they do find peace and love, they create wonders as well. It also sort of depends on the person. What do you think?
It's a good point. There is also the grief of having others close to us pass (e.g. for Dylan Thomas), so even if we do not fear death ourselves, it may still be a struggle to come to terms with the death of others. And, as you point out, we'll never be short of other topics to write poems about 😅
Yup. In a way, I believe that we'll never be satisfied with our relationship with death.