The way in which so many things are bigger than just a normal, boring routine. We are a minuscule, rather insignificant tiny piece of the whole universe. Many things we cannot even see from our quite small blue marble. But the things we do on this planet must have meaning. There are many aspects of human life that can be similar to the stars. Space is so chaotic, so much emptiness to cross just to see the next star, the next planet. It is no different than our world. We must cross times of emptiness, times of slow progress to see over the next hill.
My six poems each can show a different viewpoint of this idea that there is more to things then just on Earth. And we as a species need to realize this blatant truth soon. In "To the moon", allusions are present throughtout referencing Shakespeare and Milten. Both prominent in our history. Being written at the turn of the century, it grasped the concept of going to the sphere in the sky that seems so close, yet is 239,000 miles away. That gray circle which in fact does sustain our lives on this planet. To never just settle, to dare to go farther than ever thought possible, that is what this poem is trying to say.
"Loss" reveals a different idea of what makes us human. With certain things starting out with so much promise and so much hope, we as individuals and as a collective society must deal with these facts of life. Loss of love, or loss of a good idea. Either way they are both gone. The rhyme, and almost couplet quality of the poem shows that how something so filled with hope, can have equal or even greater effects in the negative once it is gone forever.
Carbon is the sixth element in the periodic table, and the simplicity of the poem about it I have selected are quite a contrast to the seriousness of some of the other poems. Well there may not be any profound meaning, it does more than just list facts about an element we all need to live, considering we are carbon based life forms. The allusion to other elements, and how Carbon can combine with them to give us so many useful things, can show how mankind can use a simple thing such as Carbon, to create marvels that will stand the test of time.
Peace on Earth allows us to think about how we look up at the same stars, and see the same shapes that our ancestors have for tens of thousands of years. It is no coincidence the same names and ideas the ancients had about these constellations, are still named the same and remembered today. Many allusions throughtout, in a subtle way, referencing Orion the hunter, and the bears Ursa Major and Minor. When we look upon the stars, it compels us to go farther than we ever have before. To colonize to worlds. To meet new people. To figure out exactly what is the human experience, and how it can be improved for each person who share a brief existence in time. That is what defines us as a species.
Who we are and where we have come from, is a central idea of "waking in Europe". Especially for many of us in the United States and the west in general. Walking the same hills, listening to the same river (Rhine) that our ancestors once did, gives a sense of nostalgia as if we were walking right along side those who came before us. Looking to the past, and all that happened, only further gives us fuel to strive towards the future.
The british bulldog himself rounds out the six poems I have selected. Poor Puggy wug allows us to look at a simpler side of human life, and just life in general on Earth. Not two years removed from commanding the British army in the greatest and deadliest conflict in human history, Sir Winston Churchill can still find solace in what makes us human. Even if it is just to make his daughter feel better. Poor puggy wug shows how even man's best friend can take our attention from the horrors that once were war. Brief moments like these are the solace that all men and women hope to strive for in their lives.
