Death viewed differently

As we visit the resting place of our loved ones, the thought of death inevitably comes to our mind. For the young, such thought may just be like a passing cloud, tentative and transitory, merely a faint sludge in their consciousness. But to those of age, it is a sobering one, a grim reminder of the proximity of the call which could resound any hour in their few remaining days or years.

Thought of death frightens most of us. No matter how difficult life is, still it is a better state, we believe, than getting dumped in some cold spots where the worms abound. That is why survival is always foremost in our mind, no matter how old we are. Greek mythology, for example, tells of an old couple who were asked by their son, a king, to die for him so that he could buy time for himself. (He was to die on an appointed day - unless somebody would die in his behalf). Do you know the couple's answer? "Son, life is sweet. We did not ask you to die for us; we shall therefore not die for you." But the Greek of old were pagans. The idea of life after death had not yet permeated in their world view. Life after death is mainly a Christian concept inspired by the life and passion of Jesus Christ.

To Christians like us, life is but a transition to another life. The soul, we are taught, lives after the body is annihilated. It lives forever, either in bliss or in damnation, depending upon how we spent our earthly sojourn. As followers of Christ, we believe that there is life after death. We believe what Jesus says that he is the resurrection and the life and that he who believes in him shall not die.

Such belief gives us a new outlook on death. Instead of thinking of it as an event that destroys, we now look at it as a happening that delights. It is not the end, but the beginning, not the absence of awareness but the intensification of awareness. But how do other people look at death? Specifically, what do poets think of it? Poets are very perceptive people. They see beyond what ordinary mortals see. They see, as the Bard of Avon says, sermons in stones and books in running brooks. Their views of death must therefore be very interesting. Here are some of them.

In his "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard," Thomas Gray wrote: "So live that when thy summon comes. /To join the innumerable caravan /Which move in that mysterious realm /Where each shall take his place /In the silent hills of death…"

Rest, final rest, seems to be Gray's concept of being dead. To die is to find oneself reposing along with others peacefully, if one was prepared for such experience, or painfully, if otherwise. Before saying this, however, the poet had a mouthful to say about life and how unfair it was to some people, the poor especially, whose poverty had kept them unable to develop their potentials. Thus they remained unknown like flowers destined to "blush unseen and waste their sweetness in the desert air."

Alfred Tennyson's idea of the final moment is contained in his "Crossing the Bar." The first stanza runs: "Sunset and evening star, /And one clear call for me, /And may there be no moaning of the bar/ When I put out to see." In the succeeding lines he evokes the image of twilight by the sea where one hears the vesper bell signaling the onslaught of the dark. Towards the end, the poet delivers his message of hope: "For though from out our borne of time and place, /The flood may bear me far,/ I hope to see my Pilot face to face. /When I have crossed the bar."

A more pragmatic outlook on death is found in Christina Rosette who wrote: "When I am dead my dearest/ Sing no sad song for me;/ Plant thou no roses at my feet/ Nor shady cypress tree. /Be the green grass above me/ With showers and dewdrop sweet, / And if thou wilt remember/ And if thou wilt forget."

The poet accepts death matter-of-factly as though it were an ordinary event. It should not therefore be a cause of pain for those left behind. Neither should it oblige them to do something for her resting place. To do so would be of no moment because: "I cannot see the sunrise, /I cannot feel the rain. "Like Gray, Rosette does not say anything about the supernatural dimension of death. To them it is nothing more than a cessation of activity. Beyond pleasantly dreaming as Gray insinuates, there's nothing more beyond the grave. In contrast, Tennyson reinforces our faith in God who awaits us, he says, when the voyage is over.

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