James Weldon Johnson's Go Down, Death

In Graveyard Blues by Natasha Trethewey, the scene of her mother’s funeral is depicted. This was when Trethewey was 17, after her stepfather had killed her mother. Through the use of a controlled structuring of lineation throughout the poem, Trethewey conveys a calm tone. Also, by using word choices and repetition Trethewey is able to depict a state of grief. Finally, through the use of weather, she conveys a feeling of all – encompassing sadness.

Pulling up at the hospital; I had no idea what I was about to endure for the first time. I walked to the end of the hall to see someone that meant so much to me laying there lifeless. I stood at the foot of his hospital bed; for a moment it seemed as if time had frozen. I was there with one other person when two nurses walked in to tell me “we see no signs of improvement, we are going to pull the plug”. I stood there and watched my best friend breath his last breath. When they allowed me to go back into the room, I immediately checked to see if he was still breathing. I walked to his side, rested my hand on his cold shoulder and prayed to God that this wasn’t real. Later flowers were piled up in the worst way and no one knew what to say or if they should speak at all. This amazing person was buried and I blamed God for the loss of his life and the physical pain that flooded my body. I couldn’t accept what had happened and told myself that it wasn’t real. I was so angry at God for making me go through this that I had lost all faith in him. My relationship with God was so amazing before I experienced this that I couldn’t understand why he would want this for me. I continued to question everything that I had ever known that I didn’t know what to believe in

The most significant period of suffering I have gone through was when I lost my grandfather. I remember we had celebrated his 50th birthday never did imagine it would be the last. That horrible news impacts my life forever realizing that we don’t count for a tomorrow. His death was suddenly due to an embolism. His death caused me a lot of suffering because he was not sick and we had made a lot of plans. I did not know how to deal with his death because I was heartbroken. I wonder and questioned if maybe only God had given us a warning. I did not know how to manage my grief and mourned for him because I was angry with God. It took me time to understand that it was God’s will and that his soul had returned to God. I learned that his death of the body was not the end of his life (Rubin & Yasien-Esmael, 2004). I found comfort in the midst of suffering by finding acceptance in God. Also, I found praying for him and sharing my suffering with others helped me console my pain. I learn that “the lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit,” which help my relationship with God grow as my pain slowly vanished.

"Whither I went with a very heavy heart, and down I sat with the picture of death in my lap" (Rowlandson 38). Mary is going through a very hard time because her child was ready to depart. Likewise, she only had nine days with her babe before she had to let her go.When he was just adopted, he was wakened and hurried away and he couldn't do anything. "Thus at the very moment I dreamed of the greatest happiness, I found myself most miserable" (Equiano 57). Equiano was going through hard times but he had to think about good times to get him thought

Its been seventeen years since her death and although she never got to meet her she could still hear her sweet voice echoing through her brain just like she did when she was in the womb. Given birth to Remi meant more to her than saving her own. So once it was time for her to birth to her second baby girl her life was slowly gone. Bit thankful she spent every day reading and singing to her just to Remi could fill her presence even after she was

" This helped to highlight the fact that although his mother went through a hard time, she was still able to find peace through God, and the fact that Jesus had gone through a torture like that of her son. (Cone, 65-66) (Cone,

She had three kids, one girl who had eight years old and two younger boys. Her family had very few moments to analyze the situation. They started treating this illness as fast as they could with chemotherapy and some other medicine. She looked strong and healthy after her treatment. But it was then when everyone realized cancer is a critical illness. After having her back for some months, she had a setback. Not many days after, she died, leaving three young kids and her husband alone. Thinking about three kids who had no time with their mother is overwhelmingly sad. A mother is essential and special to her kids, that there is no easy way to live without one. Cancer is not only destroying the lives of people who have it, but it is also destroying families. Cancer has no

Another reason I liked this poem was because i could relate to it. Though no one very close to me has passed, I have had very important people leave. I can identify the emotions described in the poem, and feel them myself when I think of the people who have left, like my mom. She left a while ago, but I

In Anne Bradstreet’s poems over the deaths of her grandchildren, the reader is able to see that she is struggling to find a balance between her grief and her faith. This can be seen in each one of her poem’s, as Bradstreet tries to justify the Lord allowing her grandchildren to die at such a young age. She is shown to be wracked with grief at each death, and seems to question why it happens more and more each time. She describes her “troubled heart and trembling hand” as well as her “throbbing heart.” She is somewhat cheered in her knowledge that she will meet the children again some day, after she passes. This can be seen in the lines “Farewell dear child, thou ne’er shall come to me, But yet a while, and I shall go to thee.” In her final poem Bradstreet can be seen to struggle even more as this is the third of her grandchildren that has passed away so far. She states that the children were “Cropped by th’ Almighty’s hand; yet He is good.” She knows that God has a reason for allowing her grandchildren to die at such a young age, however she is seen to be disturbed by the fact that He is the one that has taken the lives of someone so close to her.

It took hours for the ambulance to get there. She had now been in the hospital for 2 weeks, but she had not woken up yet. As her twins, husband, family and friends waited for the news, most of them were still dealing with the fact that she could be dead in her early age of 38. One day while everyone was waiting the doctors came out and said that she stopped breathing and there was nothing they could do, she was dead. As everyone came to a sudden realization that she was really REALLY gone, her husband didn't want to except it. Finally, he excepted it and everyone was heartbroken at this loss. Lastly, I would like to thank everyone for coming here today to remember our beloved friend we have lost, but now we can say she is with her father, Jesus, and every member she has ever

When a loved when is gone it feels like a hole in the world. With much grief he says, “Never again will anyone inhabit the world the way he did. Questions I have can never now get answers. The world is emptier. My son is gone. Only a hole remains, Avoid, a gap, never to be filled”(33). This phrase describes his emotions and how he views the world without his son. The author gives advice on what to say to someone who is mourning. He says to never say its Ok because its never okay and death is awful. “ What I need to hear from you is that you recognize how painful it is. I need to hear from you that you are with me in my desperation” (34). When some passes away no one really knows what his or her loved ones are feeling because each death is unique and each person is different. The wisest of words don’t even make the pain go away, and all that can be done is lending an ear to listen, a shoulder to lean on.

The poem that I have selected for this essay is “Talking to Grief” by Denise Levertov. I chose this poem because it talks about grief. It also talks about the place that grief should have in a person’s life. The poem describes grief, and compares it to a “homeless dog.” It also describes how a dog deserves its own place in the house, instead of living under a porch or being homeless. This poem talks about how a person can be aware that grief is present, but that it is not always acknowledged and accepted. We all experience grief in different ways, and for different reasons. Everyone deals with grief in their own personal way. This poem describes a point in a person’s life when they are ready to accept grief as a part of their life

And so does her body, which is laid in her grave. The father now asks the heavy and dark earth in the last line that it should cover her body very gentle and with this picture we get an even sadder ending.

     Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. The second Beatitude tells us that we should

The mother's road to finding closure over her son's death is much longer than her husband's. Her feelings throughout the poem are of