Sarah Essay 19

English 09

Sarah Shourds

Hamilton Salsich

4 May 2009

"One Sweet Day:"

An Essay on Two Poems and My Life

Death can be a hard topic for anyone to understand. Not only is it painful to lose someone, but it’s difficult to comprehend where they may be going, if anywhere. Emily Dickinson doesn’t understand the topic very well, but Naomi Shihab Nye can guide her with some wisdom in her poem “Adios”. In the song “One Sweet Day,” Mariah Carey and Boys to Men speak of the importance of a goodbye, and what It means to have lost someone without saying it. All of these relate to parting in many ways.

TS Parting is not an easy topic to conceive [FAST], and in the poem “My Life Closed Twice,” Ms. Dickinson doesn’t quite seem to understand it’s concept either. SD She speaks of “[her] life [that has] closed twice,” and how death is “so hopeless to conceive.” CM Maybe Dickinson has faced a near death experience, or a family death, and didn’t know how to handle it. CM Maybe Dickinson couldn’t figure out a way to open the door back into her life, and just couldn’t accept the hidden truth- death has seeped into her life. SD “Parting is all we know of heaven and all we need of hell.” CM This is a very strong statement, with a very unclear meaning. CM It's simply saying that there is somewhere for everyone to go. CM May it be the nirvana everyone imagines, or the deep roots of evil, there is somewhere for everyone [Loose Sentence]. SD Even though she has been through death, she doesn’t quite know how to handle it. CM The word “parting” itself is “so huge [and] so hopeless [for her] to conceive”. CM “It yet remains [for her] to see,“ that death isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but a test to see if you fully understand how to let go. CS Because of her background, devotion to life, and lack of knowledge to the word “death,” Dickinson doesn’t understand the full meaning of a goodbye [Periodic Sentence].

TS In the poem “Adios” by Naomi Shihab Nye, she speaks of multiple ways to deal with goodbyes. SD Ms. Nye first says “[to] use it.” CM Hearing goodbye from someone can be quite difficult, but if you let that goodbye seep into your pores, and use it’s power to its full extent, you can change it’s power for your benefit. CM You can make a goodbye turn into a hello; if a friend says goodbye to you and never comes back, it opens a door to a new friendship with a new person [Periodic Sentence]. CM “Some[one] that said adios to you before knew what it meant” and “[knows] how long it was for,” so don’t let it get you down. SD Ms. Nye also says “[to] strap it to your back like wings”. CM A goodbye may bring you down and make you feel heavy, but Ms. Nye thinks you should make it like a “kite”- let it soar through the sky. CM Don’t let it weigh you down, but “rise out of sight” and bring the good out of your goodbye. CS Ms. Nye see’s the good in all situations, and thinks you should too. CS2 If someone says goodbye to you, don’t let that door close to your friendship- always know another door will open.

TS In the song “One Sweet Day” by Mariah Carey and Boys to Men, the pair sing about dying, and how “one sweet day” they “[will] be together.” SD Mariah say’s “sorry I never told you all I wanted to say[,] and now its too late to hold you, ‘cause you’ve flown away.” CM Unlike Ms. Nye, the pair have not learned how to say goodbye. CM They “never imagined living without [each other because] it keeps [them] alive.” SD Saying goodbye was the hardest part for them, but “[losing] so many friends along the way” helped ease her pain. CM It helped Mariah realize that he‘s “shining down on [her] from heaven” and helped her “look to a brighter day”. CM “Although the sun will never shine the same again,“ she has learned to say “goodbye” to him, because they will “eventually be together.“ CS If Ms. Nye was to give Mariah any words of wisdom, she would say this- “lessons follow[] lessons [and] silence follow[s] sound,” meaning the lessons she learned in life, like “[losing] so many friends along the way,” will help her get through his death, and later on, she will be able to say hello to him again.

As I think of the grief, and unfortunate events in my life, many things floated through my head- I must remember that my family members are in a better place and that a final “goodbye” could lead to a “hello” later on [loose sentence]. We must all learn to say “goodbye,” learn that death has an unclear, mysterious definition, and that no matter where you are, someone is watching you from heaven, guiding you with a light through your life. Goodbye’s will come when you least expect it, and you must know what to do when they do show up at your front door step. Learning to say “adios” will help you move on, forget the past, and start all over.


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Self Assessment

What are the strong points in this essay?

Despite what Ceilie said in my comments, I liked the quotes in the third paragraph. I think they fit in where they needed to be and helped the paragraph flow. I did take some out so it wasn't so "choppy," but otherwise I think they worked nice.

What was the hardest part of this assignment?

I think relating the word "parting" to Emily Dickinsons poem was very difficult. The poem itself was very confusing, and it was challenging to comprehend.

My Grade- B