Someone once said, "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift." One must live for the present and live everyday to its fullest potential. This way of thinking can be seen in Jane Hirshfield's poem "The Dead Do Not Want Us Dead", Trumbull Stickney's "Live Blindly and Upon the Hour", and Bon Jovi's song "It's My Life." All have the motif of seizing the day, and contribute to the idea that one should live for the present.
In Jane Hirshfield's poem "The Dead Do Not Want Us Dead", the initial tone is very wise, telling the reader, "The dead do not want us dead: such pretty errors are left for the living. Nor do they want our mourning" (Hirishfield 1-3). Or in other words, one's life, although full of flaws, are meant to be lived. Created to live a life with no sorrow, she states, "no gift to them-- not rage, not weeping (Hirishfield 4). She also utilizes a tone of advice giving in her poem. Telling the reader that the intention for human life was for it to be enjoyed and celebrated, and to find happiness and joy in every situation. Making the most of day and making each moment a precious moment in time. She then continues on to use imagery to paint a picture of happy people and says, "Return one of them , any one of them, to the earth and look: such foolish skipping" (Hirishfield 6). This is to convey that humans are simple beings that were created to celebrate existence in a joyful manner that exemplifies gratitude to the extraordinary beauty of every moment in which they live. Hirirshfield says, "Such telling bad jokes, such feasting" (Hirishfield 7). The ignorance of the present lives in the moment with no regard to the future and what it holds. This essentially points to the idea that one must live for the day and celebrate the moment.
Trumbull Stickney's sonnet "Live Blindly and Upon the Hour" contains a very parental feel to it. As the title states, Stickney is telling the reader to "live blindly and upon the hour" (Stickney 1). He is stating that one must live for the moment with an open mind. By keeping one's mind open and in the present one will "give thyself to the lovely hours" (Stickney 9). Life will seem to be more pleasant if one does so. He also demonstrates the unimportant nature of the future by referring to the past as an old forgotten and has since passed and affirms, "Who was the Future, died full long ago. Knowledge which is the Past is folly" (Stickney 2-3). The future is of no relevance when focusing on the current situations in which one would be in. The past becomes obsolete if one simply enjoys the moment that they reside in.
Rock star Bon Jovi's song "It's My Life" exemplifies one's need to live the life they desire. He states, "It's my life. It's now or never. I ain't gonna live forever. I just want to live while I'm alive" (Jovi 6-9). Jovi is portraying the message that the life one is granted is the only life that they will be able to experience. One must not wait to live the life that they have intended for themselves when they could live that life today. Time must not be wasted because it is the most limited resource that exists on our planet. It is the resource that one must take full advantage of. As Jovi quotes, "Luck ain't even lucky
Got to make your own breaks" (Jovi 18-19). Life is what one makes of it, moreover, one must create their own positively ravishing present moments.
All of these works direct to the theory that one must seize every day as if it were the last. Jane Hirshfield's poem "The Dead Do Not Want Us Dead" tells one to celebrate every moment. Trumbull Stickney's "Live Blindly and Upon the Hour" says to live each instant with an open mind and heart.
Bon Jovi's song "It's My Life" reminds the reader that one must take ownership of the life they are living. These works teach to live for the day and all days will be bright.
BonJoviVEVO. "Bon Jovi - It's My Life." YouTube. YouTube, 16 June 2009. Web. 11 May 2017.
"Jane Hirshfield: The Dead Do Not Want Us Dead." PANGOLIN HOUSE. N.p., 27 May 2015. Web. 11 May 2017.
Stickney, Trumbull. "Live Blindly and Upon the Hour." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 01 Apr. 2014. Web. 11 May 2017.
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