9 Death sets a thing; 10 dying is fine) but Death

Death sets a thing

Emily Dickinson

Death sets a thing significant

The eye had hurried by,
Except a perished creature
Entreat us tenderly

To ponder little workmanships

In crayon or in wool,
With "This was last her fingers did,"
Industrious until

The thimble weighed too heavy,

The stitches stopped themselves,
And then 't was put among the dust
Upon the closet shelves.
A book I have, a friend gave,
Whose pencil, here and there,
Had notched the place that pleased him,--
At rest his fingers are.

Now, when I read, I read not,

For interrupting tears
Obliterate the etchings
Too costly for repairs.

Oh my. This one he separated the second and third stanzas and I wonder if the source I found might have been wrong. That is minor, however, compared to the content of this poem. It is so true. Everything Daniel did, everything he left behind, is now precious, our only physical link to the boy we miss.

dying is fine) but Death

by e.e. cummings

dying is fine)but Death

?o

baby
i

wouldn't like

Death if Death

were
good:for

when(instead of stopping to think)you

begin to feel of it,dying
's miraculous
why?be

cause dying is

perfectly natural;perfectly
putting
it mildly lively(but

Death

is strictly

scientific
& artificial &

evil & legal)

we thank thee

god
almighty for dying
(forgive us,o life!the sin of Death

Interesting subject. He picked quite a few dealing with this. Although in the eternal scheme of things it probably is not of great importance, I would like to ask him why. Was he just looking for poems and using the first one he found that fit for each requirement? Was any conscious thought going into the selection other than making sure they fit the requirements? I wish I knew.