Life On Mars Poem Analysis
Deep into The Reality of Life
Is there a life beyond earth? What is the mystery in space? Where do dead people go? If God exists what is the nature of God? The author of Life on Mars, Tracy K. Smith deals with these confusing and puzzling relationships of human existence with the universe. She has tried to explain this idea very well in two of her poems in the collection of Life on Mars: “The Weather in Space” and “The Speed of Belief”. In these poems, the use of “space” as a metaphor along with the use of repetition technique by Smith, allows the reader to accompany her on her journey of grief of losing her father, exploring questions about afterlife, and how the sense of optimism and hope can help tackle the hardest journey of life.
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The repetition of “walk” at the end of every stanza of this section “…on their slow walk/…run-no walk/…robes walk/…shadows walk/…hollow walk/…know-walk” (35-48) reflects how tough it is to move on from a loss. Through the line “Our limbs tangle in sleep, but our shadows walk,” (44) Smith tries to show how she has been affected by the memories of her lost father and how hard she is struggling to cope with his death. She emphasizes to walk away so that she can divert herself from his memories but ultimately, she wants the readers to realize that the only option left is to accept the truth and move on from the grief. According to an article Life On Mars, “The poems about Floyd are affecting and hauntingly convey Smith’s grief as she attempts to cope with his death. In referring to the unknowable expanses of the universe, she is able to express her feelings of both loss and hope.” (Malone, 2). The line “My father won’t lie still…/ all he must now know-walk?” (47-48) shows the positivity in Smith about how she believes that her father has not vanished away, rather his existence has just changed. She creates a sense of hope and imagination of her father in space so that she can develop enough courage to overcome the truth of his
Death Over Water Poem Analysis
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