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Sholeh Wolpe's I Was Sung Into This World

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Sholeh Wolpe has written two poems that both explore death. During a question and answer session with poet, Sholeh Wolpe, I was informed that her poem "I Was Sung Into This World" was written from personal experience. Therefore, following the session, I was able to form connections and draw a contrast between two poems. "I Was Sung into This World" was inspired by personal experience where she contributes her own thoughts about death. However, "She Forgot" is written from third person point of view where she reveals other s’ feelings towards death. Beds often stand as a metaphor or visual aid for events such as life and death. Sholeh Wolpe focuses on these two events in “I Was Sung into This World” and “She Forgot” and uses these events with …show more content…

She harmonizes as she translates the song during the Q&A reading, "Come, Come, Come, Come, Come". The term "come" is what Beeya means in Persian language. Her aunt sung this song when she embraced her niece (Wolpe) at the gates of her mother’s womb. Now today, Wolpe hopes that her aunt will greet her with the same song when it is time for her to enter the gates of heaven. Also at the question and answer session, Wolpe explains, “[m]y aunt was a very special person, I loved her.” Unfortunately, Wolpe's aunt who she discusses, has passed away due to cancer. She implies this in the poem when she says "yellowed by age and cancer, my aunt’s sapphire wings are spread" (Wolpe 24-25 ). Wolpe mentions that she had close ties to her dear aunt, which is why she stood next to her bedside and asks that her aunt sings to her when it was her time to go. She implies that she would not mind being in Heaven with her dear aunt. According to Wolpe's tone, attitude and her response to angels welcoming her with song shows that Death will probably be peaceful for her, therefore meaning she will most likely not fear it. During the question and answer session, she even asks herself, "why is it that many people fear death, I hope I do not turn out to fear death when my time comes.” Her exact words made me think of the grandmother in "She …show more content…

Cancer patients and the elderly can never estimate the exact date and time death will come for them. Even when people prepare themselves for it, each individual's reaction to it will still vary. The use of either song or dance by Angels are presented in both poems to show how Angels welcome those crossing over, but the characters contrasts regarding their response to death when it presents itself. The tone in "She Forgot" contrasts the tone in “I Was Sung into This World”. Overall, it becomes very clear that the two individuals in both poems have very different attitudes towards

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