Just how many regrets does the average individual have? The poems “Time” by Joe Massocco, “No Simple Thing” by Stephen Dobyn, and the song “Time Stand Still” by Rush, lament the swift passage of time and inevitably along with it, the loss of loved ones, discussing thoughts and emotions on the passage of time in a similar fashion, through a pessimistic lens. They discuss an unexpected human condition within them – the desire to cherish life while possible.
The human condition, a common topic in literature and media, is discreetly demonstrated in the poem “Time”. In this piece, the author mourns his past, wishing to somehow travel back to his childhood. “Oh, how I wish I could turn back time, // Spend it with loved ones and cherish what once was mine. // Or to go back even more, // Being a kid in a candy store. // How I miss the way I used to feel // On Christmas day when Santa was real.” (line 292929 - line13901313, Masocco). In this phrase, Massocco deems it sweeter to live a simpler life of naiveté by telling brief descriptions of his past. This is an expression of his desire to embrace the past, allowing the reader to deduce that the author has in actuality missed his chance to revere those precious moments.
Another example from the same poem is,
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“People you once knew // Walk by without a clue.” and “Tick tock… tick tock… // How I wish I could control this clock.” While the former line focuses on the experiences of Massoco’s youth, this idea concentrates on the people that were previously major features in his life. From this, readers can hypothesize that Massocco does not just yearn for the era itself, but rather for the people from that time. It is also interesting to note that the author divulges information of his past exclusively. Yet, by doing so, he ironically disregards the people currently with him. Contrary to this, the song “Time Stand Still” by Rush exemplifies the want to live and experience current events to a more passionate extent. By doing so, it also implies, however, that time is fleeting. This is displayed in the lyrics “I’m not looking back // but I want to look around me now // [...] // See more of the people and the places that surround me now // [...] // freeze this moment a little bit longer // make each sensation a little bit stronger ”. In this, the writer asks that time to offer a reprieve to contemplate all that surrounds us without simultaneously losing time in order to recognize all there is. Consequently, this shows that the narrator not only wishes to take in everything around them, but they also feel the need to for it to be at the utmost degree. The poem “No Simple Thing” details someone preparing for their death. It describes, “Not having as yet learned how to live [...] the time has come to learn how to die.”, and “Will I have time to speak to the people I love, // to press hand or stroke a cheek?” The Dobyn states that he has not had enough time to live, and then wonders what will occur before he dies. While it may not be overt, the act of readying himself for his demise is still inspired by caution. By doing so, he also understands that he should be grateful for the life around him. This poem is alike to “Time” by not markedly describing this human condition, but rather, by the reader unveiling it. In a covert method, this poem demonstrates the wisdom of looking forward to the future and the present, even if it is in a rather macabre manner. In a sense, “No Simple Thing” is also an evolution of the other pieces, specifically depicting what they lament of – how change comes with time and then, a most grand change, death. The other pieces have distinct lines that reference mortality, but they do not explicitly entail the specifics. For example, in “Time”, “Years fly… friends die…// and you never know when you’ll say your last goodbye.” and in “Time Stand Still”, “Children growing up, old friends growing older”. Both reference the inevitability of death. “Time Stand Still” is an instance showing vulnerability, and demonstrates that the balance between acknowledging what has occurred and anticipating what shall arise is a difficult line to navigate.
Even by looking forward to the anticipation of the future and the novelty of the present, there is the risk of being lost in the familiar past, a concept that “No Simple Thing” employs. This can be explained by a simple evolutionary trait. As a species, humans have the tendency to plan in preparation for future possibilities. It is necessary to analyze and interpret the past for the future. This, however, can be a slippery slope of delving too deep and centralizing energy for what cannot be changed, as seen in
“Time”. In another artistic vision, Kung Fu Panda, a character passes along his wisdom: "You are too concerned about what is, and what will be. There is a saying; yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery. But, today is a gift. That is why it is called the present". This illustrates a few flaws in the principles of Time and Time Stand Still. They deplore the passage of time, and how it passes in the blink of an eye. Continuously, they describe the importance of living in the moment and what the writers have lost to time, particularly loved ones and childhood wonder. Yet, by doing so, they do not recognize those around them, and ignore that time is not simply a harbinger of sorrow, but how it can also bring good tidings and new opportunities. In fact, to truly cherish life, one must appreciate past experiences and the chances the future holds. To appreciate the world, one must also appreciate change. Although it is necessary to reflect on the past, doing so to the extent of losing focus of the present while maintaining a negative perspective can be unnecessarily detrimental. By regarding the flow of time with optimism, one can then easily appreciate everything around them.
The timeline carries on chronologically, the intense imagery exaggerated to allow the poem to mimic childlike mannerisms. This, subjectively, lets the reader experience the adventure through the young speaker’s eyes. The personification of “sunset”, (5) “shutters”, (8) “shadows”, (19) and “lamplights” (10) makes the world appear alive and allows nothing to be a passing detail, very akin to a child’s imagination. The sunset, alive as it may seem, ordinarily depicts a euphemism for death, similar to the image of the “shutters closing like the eyelids”
Memory is both a blessing and a curse; it serves as a reminder of everything, and its meaning is based upon interpretation. In Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies Dedé lives through the memory of her family and her past. She tells the stories of her and her sisters lives leading up to their deaths, and reflects upon those memories throughout her daily life. Dedé lives on for her sisters, without her sisters, but all along carrying them with her throughout her life, never moving on. Dedé lives with the shame, sadness, and regret of all that has happened to her sisters, her marriage, and her family. Dedé’s memories serve as a blessing in her eyes, but are a burden
The past dictates who we are in a current moment, and affects who we might become in the future. Every decision people make in lives has an influence on future, regardless of how minimal or large it is. Some decisions people decide to make can have dire consequences that will follow them for the rest of the life. Moreover, even though if someone would want to leave any memories from past behind, however it will always be by his side. Specific memories will urge emotional responses that bring mind back to the past and person have no choose but to relieve those emotions and memories again. Nonetheless, certain events change people and make them who they are, but at the same time, some wrong choices made past haunts us. This essay will discuss the role of the past in novel Maestro, that was written by Australian author Peter Goldsworthy in 1989 and also in Tan Shaun's story Stick Figures which was included in book called "Tales from outer suburbia" and published in 2008.
Man must not only remember his past, but also choose to remember it as it really happened—for, to again quote Eliot, “What might have been is an abstraction" (175). Fantasizing about an abstract, idealized past will never give success i...
Regret is a part of life. There is at least one thing that people regret in their past lifetime and look back and wish they could have done it more differently. Regret can come from not pursing their dreams and not being there for their loved ones. Regret can cause pain all types of ways. In “Sonny’s Blue” by James Baldwin and “I Stand Here Ironing” by Tillie Olsen, each of the authors demonstrates about regret and how much pain it causes them. Both of the authors write about disappointing their families, when they should have been there for them.
Imagery uses five senses such as visual, sound, olfactory, taste and tactile to create a sense of picture in the readers’ mind. In this poem, the speaker uses visual imagination when he wrote, “I took my time in old darkness,” making the reader visualize the past memory of the speaker in “old darkness.” The speaker tries to show the time period he chose to write the poem. The speaker is trying to illustrate one of the imagery tools, which can be used to write a poem and tries to suggest one time period which can be used to write a poem. Imagery becomes important for the reader to imagine the same picture the speaker is trying to convey. Imagery should be speculated too when writing a poem to express the big
In the poem, Harjo portrays the importance of recalling the past to help shape one’s identity. She uses the repetition of the word “Remember” to remind that while the past may be history, it still is a defining factor in people’s lives (l. 1). This literary technique
Nostalgia is an idealised longing for former times, places, or people; it colours memory, softens the hues of the past, and inspires a longing to return to these times or places. The poems, “Tantramar Revisited” by Charles G. D. Roberts, and “Low Tide on Grand Pré” by Bliss Carman each explore the idea of returning to a fondly remembered past. In these two poems both Bliss and Carman use descriptions of nature as a means to connect with the past. In “Tantramar Revisited”, repetition of key words and phrases evokes the feeling of the passage of time. In “Low Tide on Grand Pré”, the passage of time is stated more
The speaker starts of by describing his cheerful and joyous years of when he was a child. The way the speaker describes his childhood on “Fern Hill” is as if he was living within an eternal holy Garden of Eden. It seems as if the speaker lived throughout his childhood feeling as if “time” allowed him to “play and be”, as if he was young and innocent for and eternity. Additionally, the continuous cycle of beautiful nature portrayed the speaker's idea of his never ending childhood. However, the tone of the speaker appears to shift significantly from cheerful reminiscence to regretfulness. It is as if the speaker believes that the time he spent in his ‘eternal’ childhood has betrayed him. The speaker now moves from assuming that the sun is “born
In life, people have to endure lots of things. These things affect us all differently, in many different ways. They shape a person's life. When we go through everyday life, we don’t always become conscious of it, but everything we go through, could somehow affect the choices we make. The decision could be so small as choosing between certain types of donut, or something as big as applying for a loan, but because of the things we’ve learned through past experiences, it could stop us from doing them. People’s actions and their intentions are based on past experiences, causing them to make certain decisions. Kn kn kn kn kn kn kn kn knkn n kn kn kn n ljn ln kn kn
In the world today, we highly value newness. Even though we value the future, it is also important to remember the past. We should focus more on our past accomplishments and errors so we can heed learn lessons on how we can improve the future, improve society, and to prevent becoming rigid and stagnate.
The simple yet extraordinary emotion of nostalgia has been ingrained in mankind since inception. Every single individual has experienced this intense emotion at one point their life, sometimes even regularly. A feeling of sentimental longing for the past, sometimes referred to as 'looking back on the good old days' are typical of being in a state of nostalgia. Robert Frost demonstrates the natural emotion of nostalgia in his poems “Birches” and “The Road Not Taken”. Although both poems convey the feelings of wistful yearning for the days gone by, each poem addresses different kinds of nostalgia: the longing for a carefree, adventurous childhood of the past and the nostalgic reflection of life choices. Both poems make use of differing poetic structures—in addition to various poetic tools—to create the manifestation of nostalgia within their poems.
... is romantic and at ease, but he turns brisk and honest as time disintegrates. This image becomes crystal clear with words and phrases such as, "heart", "beauty", "youthful hue sits on thy skin", "our sweetness", "virginity", "breast", and "pleasures". All of these words provide the reader with an illustration of the man's desires. The use of imagery permits the author to fully describe the necessity of time, and allows the reader to visualize the thoughts and feelings that the characters experience.
However, (Lamond, 2005) touched on how we could deal with the present and transform it to the future in trying to learn from the past. He draws attention to past theories that have been mistreated but yet have influence on modern day theory.
Life is constantly throwing curveballs. They come from every angle, at differing speeds and all make diverse, lasting impacts. Yet, no matter how many are thrown in our direction, one may never be able to know when or from where the next is coming. Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, once said that “Life can only be understood backwards, but must be lived forward.” Meaning that, much like the curveballs, there is no way to understand what life will throw at us in the future, yet we must learn based on the experiences that have occurred in our past. For instance, when one becomes aware of the fact that a curveball is in their near future, and is ready to throw them off course, there is no time to think of what steps to take in order to get out of harm’s way. One must act solely on instinct, while simultaneously thinking through the process. We must then continue to think it over after the ac...