Rage Matchbox

I love the poems of Dylan Thomas! Like most people it is this poem that lights me up the most and I’ve decided to share why I love it so much. “Do Not Go Gentle” offers a compelling case that we should embrace the torture of anger and regret while we are dying. The piece starts by listing different types of people (written as different types of “men”, but obviously its for everyone). He lists wise men, good men, wild men, and grave men and describes their respective torments. The sad and frustrating regrets that they each might find when they reflect on their life. The piece ends with Dylan Thomas watching his own father dying in turmoil. He sees that, though his father loves him, Dylan Thomas is himself the frustrating regret that his father is tortured by. Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray. This poem resonates with so many people because it is one of very few art masterpieces in our culture that sanctions “negative” emotions at death. It is a beautiful and undeniably wise piece that giv