Poetry and music are two things
that can reach across countries, and can reach across language barriers.
Although the words may not be understood by a foreigner, the tone can be
recognized. A tone of sadness, happiness, loss, anger, surprise, or guilt, along
with any other emotion, can be taken and received by someone who doesn’t even
speak the language of the poem. That’s simply because poetry and music aren’t
just words; they’re stories of emotion. They’re embodiments of emotion.
The
band Poets of the Fall are an alternative rock band which originated in
Finland. They’re known for their distinct sound and rhythmic, almost
psychedelic, sound of music. Many of their songs, such as ‘Cradled in Love’ and
the one that will be analyzed in depth, “Sleep,” often have a deeper, darker
meaning to them. Their song ‘Sleep’ makes me feel as though the point of view
of the song is in a second person perspective, detailing the sudden, unforeseen
loss of someone very close to them, since the song begins with the lines “Hear
your heartbeat // Beat a frantic pace // And it's not even seven AM // You're
feeling the rush of anguish settling // You cannot help showing them in…” These
line give me the most depressing image of a family, letting the police into
their home after a loving member of that family has passed.
Poetry
is another way we sympathize with emotions. W.H. Auden’s beautiful piece
“Funeral Blues,” (also known as “Stop all the Clocks”) details the first person
perspective of a man who lost a very close friend of his, possibly a lover, who
died suddenly, maybe an accident or suicide, and the man has no will to live
on. The lines “He was my North, my South, my East and West, // My working week
and my Sunday rest, // My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; // I thought
that love would last for ever: I was wrong. // The stars are not wanted now:
put out every one; // Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun; // Pour away the
ocean and sweep up the wood. // For nothing now can ever come to any good”
(Auden 10-17) basically define, word for word, how someone feels when they lose
a loved one suddenly
Another
poem I found that accurately describes how the loss of a loved one carries with
someone the rest of their lives is a piece titled “A Meeting,” written by one
Wendell Berry. This poem gives a feeling of acceptance: the author has come to
terms with the loss of the loved one, and simply wants to know how the loved
one is handling the afterlife, after reading the lines “I know, gone long and
far, // and yet he is the same // for the dead are changeless. // They grow no
older. // It is I who have changed, // grown strange to what I was.”
All
three of these works depict the loss of loved ones. They convey the words that
our minds fail to form, and they help us find peace. Music has, for me, helped
me with my emotions. One thing that helps is listening to music my old friend
used to, such as either the bands or genres he liked and listened to daily.
They help give me a sense of comfort, knowing that his pain and suffering have
subsided, and he is residing in paradise.
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