Posted by Sara on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 8:39pm.
In Favour of being Alive
Twenty-four years ago
I tried to kill myself
but with my usual incompetence
did not manage to.
Not even one good poem
out of it.
Obviously
I was no Sylvia Plath.
I don't know
why I write about it now
(and even now
I am not giving details)
except maybe I write
for hortatory or didactic reasons
to say to someone
Don't!
It's been a dull life
much of the time
but lots better
than no life at all.
You don't know how much
you may yet enjoy
just waking up
and peeling oranges
to eat with sugar
while you listen to the clock strike
down at the Town Hall
telling you again
that you're still here
And Sylvia Plath isn't.
-Elizabeth Brewster
At the end of the poem, the speaker begins a list of things that would be missed if one were dead. Notice that the list includes things that re quite common and yet meaningful and pleasurable in some way.
Think of all the everyday pleasures that you take for granted but can imagine missing. Make a list of atleast twenetly such pleasures.
Here is what I have so far:
1. Shopping
2. Dressing up
3. Watching T.V
4. Listening to music
5. Gossip
6. Praying
7. Going to church
8. seeking parent's blessings
9. Making breakfast
10. Swinging on the swings
11. Experiencing dreams
12. Learning about the world
13. Watching the sunset
14. going for a long drive
Do you have any other suggestions?
- English-Poetry - Sara, Tuesday, April 27, 2010 at 8:52pm
Are these good?
-singing in the shower
-sleeping in
-coloring
-laughing
-sitting by the fireplace
-playing in the snow
- English-Poetry - SraJMcGin, Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 2:25am
Yes! Think of what you would miss seeing, touching, tasting, smelling, hearing = anything that touches the senses. . .reading a good book, etc.
Sra
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