Poetry and My Life

Dylan Thomas is one of my favorite poets. He has written many poems, but this one is my favorite.

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO
THAT GOOD NIGHT

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rage at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

My paternal grandfather passed away last year. He had been sick for a few months already and we knew it was his time. I, however, had no desire to accept the possibility of his loss. He died two days before Christmas, but was extremely sick the two weeks before that. In those two weeks, we read this poem in my English class. I was embarrassed to shed a few tears during class as I read the author's plea. It was a plea for determination and strength from his father. I silently plead for such strength, such "rage" against death for my grandfather. Yes, I knew that no matter how badly I wanted my grandfather to live forever it would be impossible. Yet I saw no harm in entertaining the idea that I'd get to hear him call me 'Bucket' just one more time. I wanted Grandpa Glenn to fight the dying light, but he and God had a different plan. He passed away and my family went to Arizona to see his funeral the day after Christmas. I have never forgotten this poem and I will always remember the joy and love I associate with my grandfather when I read it.

I Am A Child of God

A blog... I didn't expect to make one of these until I was at least graduated and married with a child on the way. But, due to extenuating circumstances, here I am - a brand new college freshman with a propensity to put the social before the academic. It is a bad habit that I plan to kick to the curb, or at least balance out. My roommate is awesome, she studies and gets all her homework done in a timely manner and I often can't bring myself to break out the books. Fortunately, she 'encouraged' me to read and annotate a talk that had been assigned in my Writing 150 class, and to get it done before I went out for the night. I had a rare moment of rational thought-process and decided she was right, and I read the talk. And then read it again. I have often heard stories about people opening their scriptures to a random page, only to find a passage so applicable to their situations that it could not have been a coincidence. Personally, I had never experienced this type of revelation, until I read the talk entitled, "A Child of God," by President Henry B. Eyring, delivered at BYU in October of 1997.

President Eyring's words touched me and I devoured the talk. I read certain passages over and over, took meticulous notes, and even thought about framing a sentence or two for my dorm room wall. The point that jumped out at me throughout the talk was the importance of education. He states that the five characteristics of a great learner are the ability to welcome correction, they keep commitments, they work hard, they help others, and they expect resistance and are able to overcome it. That is, a great learner realizes that communication, love, strength, and determination are essential for success. I realize that in order to be successful in this new chapter of my life I need to be committed and get my priorities straight. I have been told by my parents and stake president that my education will be one of my greatest tools in life and I have always brushed that counsel aside. However, President Eyring says, "You are under a mandate to pursue--not just while you are here, but throughout your lives--educational excellence." And finally it hit me that, yes, I am here to learn and I am actually excited about it. Of course I was enthusiastic about my classes last week as it was my first week at college and I was experiencing so many new things, but I had already begun to notice the first signs of disinterest and boredom. After reading this talk though, I remembered that I am indeed a child of God, here to fulfill a divine purpose. He provided both the means and the charge to receive a good education and now I finally realize the importance of doing so. It is my responsibility to learn and I have decided that I will. And now I look forward to my classes and actually had a good time studying for my nutrition class yesterday. It was my first time studying at the library-any library-and it was a complete success. This is where I'm supposed to be and I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, and I'm not alone. I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to read President Eyring's talk and I love that he said, "He will give us no test without preparing the way for us to pass it."