"My life closed twice before it's close"

My life closed twice before its close—

It yet remains to see

If Immortality unveil

A third even to me

So huge, so hopeless to conceive

As these that twice befell.

Parting is all we we know of heaven

And all we need of hell.

Dickinson discusses death, again. From what I understood, in this poem the speaker basically “hit rock bottom” twice. There are those times in everyone’s life where we just think it’s the end, but it’s really not. In life we are always going to have our ups and downs, some higher and lower than others, but life keeps going in this continuous cycle. As Dickinson notes, a third event will more than likely fall upon to the speaker.

The low points in speaker’s life, as reflecting in this poem, seem to be caused by the loss of two loved ones. At the end of the poem, Dickinson writes that we don’t know much of heaven or hell. The speaker and everyone else who has lost a loved one doesn’t actually know if their loved one is in heaven or hell.

"the last Night She lived"

The last Night that She lived

It was a Common Night

Except the Dying -- this to Us

Made Nature different

We noticed smallest things --

Things overlooked before

By this great light upon our Minds

Italicized -- as 'twere.

As We went out and in

Between Her final Room

And Rooms where Those to be alive

Tomorrow were, a Blame

That Others could exist

While She must finish quite

A Jealousy for Her arose

So nearly infinite --

We waited while She passed --

It was a narrow time --

Too jostled were Our Souls to speak

At length the notice came.

She mentioned, and forgot --

Then lightly as a Reed

Bent to the Water, struggled scarce --

Consented, and was dead --

And We -- We placed the Hair --

And drew the Head erect --

And then an awful leisure was

Belief to regulate -- 

Dickinson also discusses death in this poem. But in this poem, she discusses a death that is being expected. When we are told we someone we love is going to die, we don’t know what to say or do. We begin to pay attention to those little things we didn’t notice before. We begin to share memories and stories to ease our pain.

 

Then, when death eventually happens, there’s nothing you can do about it. All you can do is move on and remember what you had with that person who is no longer with you. When someone dies, we start to blame ourselves for their death. We start to say “This is entirely my fault” or “I could’ve done this and they'd still be here.” Usually, there really is nothing you can do about someone dying. Death is obviously something you can’t control, as much as we wish we could.

I’ve never been told to prepare for someone to die. I’ve only lost them unexpectedly. I don’t know which way is easier; to have time to tell them good bye and have to suffer with them through their death or to lose them suddenly and not be able to have a formal closure with that person.

"The Bustle in a House"

The Bustle in a House

The Morning after Death

Is solemnest of Industries

Enacted upon Earth—

 The Sweeping up the Heart

And puttting Love away

We shall not want to use again

Until Eternity

Dickinson discusses death and the grief that follows it. The central focus of this poem is what comes after a person dies. After someone dies, all of the people who loved that person are left behind. They are left to worry about the deceased and their obituary, funeral, life insurance, inheritance, etc. Those people are also left to grieve and let them go until one day they meet again in heaven.

This poem discusses a somber subject, but has a peaceful ending. Death is sad, especially when you lose a person you love.This poem will reflect some part of everyone's life, because some day you will lose someone you love. It's really hard to lose someone, which I have learned from experience, but one of the only valuable parts of this lesson is meeting with them again. I look forward to being with the people I have loved and lost again, how about you?