Bret Harte's Poem 'The Last Dance'

672 Words2 Pages

It’s still up in the air which day my brother died. Was it October 26th or the 28th? Does it really matter? It does to us, his family. Although the police estimate he had been lying dead in his apartment for two days, it is up to the medical examiner to determine that. It is also up to the medical examiner on whether it is appropriate or not to perform an autopsy. In this case, he decided it was not appropriate. So the bottom line is this, a seemingly healthy 57 year old man’s death certificate states that he died from “natural causes” and I’m not buying it!! Death is such a final word, a universal word, yet it is looked at, described, discussed, and viewed in so many different ways. Take me for example. In my mind, death is of course a part of life, but more importantly, it is part of the fairy tale I have created. When I was a girl, I knew that after I …show more content…

There are so many unanswered questions, and that is why the title of my poem is “WHY.” I remember reading in the book “The Last Dance” they talk specifically about the different ways people speak about death etc. I find when speaking about my brother, I don’t say the “c” word (cemetery), I say we need to visit my brother. I don’t say the “g” word either (grave), I say that we will decorate his place for the holiday. I don’t visit him as much as I should because it is so painful, it’s not comforting. I just want to be with him even though I know he isn’t there. I know this in my mind, yet it’s the last place I saw him. One thing that I have learned is that death is not a fairy tale. Death can be considered a blessing for those who have suffered with pain and disease and can also be considered a curse for those who go all of a sudden, way too soon, for no reason. I believe that one’s perception of death is subjective, based on the circumstances, timing, and age. In my case, with my brother, I think death

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