DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave 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.
This poem has been in my head a lot lately. I often think of it when I'm trying to make a decision. The poem always reminds me that there are so many ways to live and even when we set a path, we'll look back and doubt and wonder at the "road's not taken" but that doubting isn't bad, it's a struggle that can bring more life.
2 comments:
It's a great poem. Stravinsky was a close friend of Dylan Thomas, and created a poignant setting of this poem when Thomas died. You can see a performance here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_F9AeHWRFI) if you'd like.
This poem has always spoken to me, also. I don't pretend to understand it completely, but I often feel a desire to rage against the inevitable.
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