Do not go gentle into that good night
Dylan Thomas
1914 –1953
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
*
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
*
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
*
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
*
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
*
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
*Dylan Marlais Thomas, born October 27, 1914, in South Wales, was the archetypal Romantic poet of the popular American imagination.
*****
https://poets.org/poem/do-not-go-gentle-good-night
My response to Dylan’s Poem…
What is the Raging For
Why rage against the dying of the light
It comes to both wild and wise // at the blinding of sight
Even the good and grave see light beyond the vale
So why rage in old age after a life of stories to tell
Who is the raging for at the dimming of the end
Is it for God watching over all that’s ever been
Surely too late to worry about what’s not been done
Perhaps it makes hobgoblins dancing circling in fun
Even my father did not rage when his heart failed at the very end
It would have only made me feel worse not seeing him again
No, why rage against what unknowns may come
When at the dying of the light there may be
another exploding sun.
Today at d’Verse, guest host Dora gave us a challenging prompt to take a dead poet whose work inspired us and write a response to one of his poems. I chose Dylan Thomas’s poem, Don’t Go Gentle into That Good Night.
As I have grown older, I often think about end-of-life concepts. This poem strikes a chord with me in a challenging way. I was happy to have a chance to respond to Dylan’s poem.
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Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Roth Poetry 