Death Snips Proud Men by Carl Sandburg

DEATH is stronger than all the governments because the governments are men
and men die and then death laughs: Now you see 'em, now you don't.


Death is stronger than all proud men and so death snips proud men on the nose,
throws a pair of dice and and says: Read 'em and weep.


Death sends a radiogram every day: When I want you I'll drop in - and then one
day he comes with a master-key and lets himself in and says: We'll go now.


Death is a nurse mother with big arms: 'Twon't hurt you at all; it's your time now;
you just need a long sleep, child; what have you had anyhow better than sleep?
~Carl Sandburg

Carl Sandburg was a poet from Illinois who had earned three Pultizer prizes throughout his lifetime, two for his poetry and one for his biography on Abraham Lincoln. He died in 1967 at the age of 89. This poem is obviously about the nature of death, its power and how much power it holds over living things. Even if humans try to become "masters of their destiny" they are all still met with the fate of passing. "Death" can kill you no matter who you are, where you are, your ranking, wealth or education; it doesn't matter about nothing else than doing its job - and its very good at it.

I decided to do a response on a poem about death mainly because my aunt passed away at the age of 54 due to cancer on July 7th, and death seems to be a subject most people don't like to talk about. They know about it, certainly, but it's one of those uncomfortable things that they don't want to acknowledge while they are alive. I've often read that death comes as a complete surprise to those that are close to dying, as they haven't given much thought to it as they went along with their daily lives. I'm usually not overly scared or excited about things (my mother was more excited about prom than I was) and I have thought of death now and then and while thinking about my own death I haven't been as scared, worried or nervous as one migt expect themselves to be; perhaps it is because the real threat of it isn't around, so in the back of my mind I know that I don't need to worry about it just yet. But when thinking about the death of those I care about, especially my friends and favorite family members, I become very depressed and sometimes even cry, depending on who it is. Although I had not cried when I heard my aunt had passed away, or even when my great-grandmother had passed while I was still in middle school, it saddens me to think that I may potentially lose my favorite grandfather or friend without a moments notice.