Jada Boyd
AP Lit(1st Hr)
26 September 2016
"Twas once was warm like us" by Emily Dickinson is an eye-opening poem about death. She describes in detail what happens to the physical features of a body once it is dead. This poem touched me because if you have ever been to an open casket funeral, you know what she means. The body is frigid and pale. The facial expression is undisturbed and indifferent. It is disturbing to imagine that it was once a warm living, breathing person like us.
One stanza that really tugged at my heart was stanza two. The narrator states, “The Forehead copied Stone- / The Fingers grew too cold / To ache- and like a Skater’s Brook- / The busy eyes- congealed-” (6-9). This stanza struck a chord because it perfectly what I thought at my Uncle’s funeral. He looked nothing like himself. He looked sickly thin and pale. His face was waxy and pulled taut. Luckily, I didn’t see his eyes. I think I would have collapsed if they were congealed like Dickinson mentioned in this stanza.
Overall this poem is something we can all relate to. It is unnerving to see a dead body. This was literally a person that had a family and a life. Dickinson concludes the poem with a stunning realization, “Twas lowered, like a Weight- / It made no Signal, nor demurred, / But dropped like Adamant.”(15-17). It was at this point that I realized everybody will die one day. Every single person will meet their end. We don’t know when or how but we will one day be stiff and cold with congealed eyes and indifferent faces. We will be Waiting to be put to rest by our loved ones.
Ugh. Dickinson can be very dark. You've chosen a tough (emotionally speaking) poem. You've touched on the exact reason I do not go up to the casket at a funeral. I will spend all day at the funeral home to pay my respects and support my loved ones, but I do not go to the casket. I'm happy to say my prayers for the deceased from a distance.
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