I found these interesting lines at http://evidenceanecdotal.blogspot.com/2009/10/coraggio.html
This is about death, and 'courage' in the face of it.
Philip Larkin sets up the issue of death:
“Unresting death, a whole day nearer now,Making all thought impossible but howAnd where and when I shall myself die.”
And then, the matter of fact statement of the uselessness of the idea of facing it with courage-
Makes sense.
Photo Credit: Secretly Ironic
“Courage is no good:
It means not scaring others. Being brave
Lets no one off the grave.
Death is no different whined at than withstood.”
Makes sense.
Photo Credit: Secretly Ironic
Courage applies to the next breath taken in the face of death till such a point when the expected breath doesn't arrive. Beyond. is unknown and hence meaningless.
ReplyDeleteThere is value in possessing courage till that point comes upon. Not as a prayer to stave it off but to be able to inspire, live and expire in that single breath if and when that next breath arrives.
Thoughts of death could be obsessive in some unfortunate people.
ReplyDeleteBut for people like me, death is an abstraction- except perhaps while watching some distant bombing, or coming across an upended auto near the traffic signal. So, this does not matter.
But still, if we are aware of the possibility of death- such as when our BP shoots up incredibly high and the doctor warns of an impending heart attack or some such thing- then the question of courage comes in.
We won't know what we will do, unless we get there, I think.
Regards,
bas,
ReplyDeletemost of the natural death happens without the knowledge of dying, though it was expected most of the time.
several accidental deaths happen in micro seconds, where the person dies without knowing what happens to him.
and there exists a category where the person knows he will die and will experience the process of dying step by step like that happened at thekkady and as a hostage.
first cast the courage is theoretical and you make your body ready for that. the second thing doesnt need one. what about the third one. how to go about the suffering process.
Don't know the answer. Probably that is what the poem is about.
ReplyDeleteCourage is superficial, it seems to suggest. It makes no difference to the outcome. But if I am cheerful, go about my duties and so on, it means I am easy on my friends and relatives. That's all.
Is that a virtue or what? Depends on what sort of a person you are, I think.
Regards,
Death is real for me - it is the signal that tells me that I must now give up exerting against it. The person under the paddles was...and not is.
ReplyDelete