"IF I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain" (Dickinson).
"If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking" is a poem by Emily Dickinson. Dickinson did not name many of her poems, so the first line of her poems are often taken as the names.
This short poem is Dickinson saying that if she can make one person happy in life, then she will be happy (Dickinson). She is saying that she will not live in vain if she can make at least one person's life seem happy and good. In the fifth line Dickinson is saying that it does not have to be a person that she helps, she can also help an animal like a robin (Dickinson).
A lot of people can relate to Dickinson's poem. A lot of people want to feel like they have made a difference in someone's life. I think that is one of the main meanings of life: to help others. That is, at least, a very highly emphasized point in my life. Some people do not care to help others though, which I think is kind of sad. I think people should help each other to succeed and live a great life. I think that is what human nature is for. People should help others, so that everyone can feel better about themselves and we can all live in harmony.
Like Dickinson's poem says, if she can help one person, make one person feel good about themselves and live a great life, she will be happy and not live such a horrible, sad life. I think all people feel this feeling of needing to help people and needing to be helped by people. Everyone loves to be loved and to love others, so everyone likes to help the people that they love. One thing that can make someone feel even better and not live their life in "vain" is if they help someone that they do not really know.
Works Cited:
Dickinson, Emily. "If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking". Part One: Life. 1924. Accessed 22 March 2011. http://www.bartleby.com/113/1006.html.
No comments:
Post a Comment