Introduction
In the poem, the author examines a universal human phenomenon: human suffering and how the people in society deal with the grief that they experience. In the poem, the speaker confirms that they examine everyone who they find grieving with individual attention. This may be because they may have experienced the same, and understand the effects of grieving on an individual, or that they understood that different people in society had different ways of expressing their grief. They also assert that they seek to measure the magnitude of grief that the people they meet experience so that they can see if they understand and takes grief as seriously as the speaker does (Dickson, 1). This is because the speaker's suffering and sorrow had been with them for so long that it had become part of them. Therefore they needed to know if the people they met had been in pain for as long as the speaker had been and thus ascertain if their reaction to pain was normal.
The author also wonders if the people in pain had contemplated ways to ease the pain, maybe through suicide or having formulated ways to conceal their pain through smiles. However, the speaker seems to have been in pain so long that they can tell when a smile is fake or if a person is in pain but concealing it. The speaker also considers the viability of time being a healer of pain that people experience and whether or not the time has an impact on the healing process of the people at all (Dickson, 1). Additionally, the speaker suspects that if the pain is not healed by love, it will most probably remain to haunt the people concerned. Therefore, the speaker seems to be prescribing love as the only known solution to emotionally broken people.
The speaker in the poem claims that death, if chosen through suicide or if it inadvertently catches up with an individual in pain, has no confirmed healing effects on the people concerned. This is because the occurrence of death only stops the suffering in the dead, and more misery is piled on the people who are left mourning them, thus creating a vicious cycle of pain. The speaker also argues that, according to them, suffering transcends the occurrence of death, and therefore the soul which they believe does not die, continues to suffer the same grief that one had in their lives.
Despite the speculations throughout the poem, the speaker believes that they have not pinned the existence of pain to a particular source, and therefore they cannot be sure of how to stop the pain since they do not know of its origin. However, the speaker is thanks to their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for giving them the strength to cope with the pain they experience. Therefore despite the inability to know the source, they can handle and live with the pain that they encounter (Dickson, 1). The speaker also attributes the universal patterns of suffering experienced by humanity as proof of the divine purpose of suffering. The ability of the people to understand the role played by pain in their lives will give them the ability to enjoy eternal bliss in the afterlife.
Styles Used in the Poem
First, the author uses the style of reflection, whereby, they remember their pain and suffering and use it to measure the pain of the others that they meet. Reflection is also used reflection to discuss the different aspects associated with the grief that people experience in life. Additionally, the author uses a solemn tone to present the poem and also to pass their message across successfully. Through the solemn tone set throughout the poem, the author discusses the different sources of pain and suffering in life, and how each source harms the people in society (Dickson, 1). Furthermore, the solemn tone plays an essential role in the last part of the poem, where the author attributes the pain and suffering experienced by people to a divine purpose, and also mentions that they are lucky to have Jesus Christ in their life to help them through the pain and suffering that they experience in their lives.
Conclusion
The author has also used the use of imagery throughout the poem. The first instance is when the author introduces the possibility of `measuring' the pain that people go through in lengths and widths and compare it to their suffering. Through this quantification of pain, the author tries to form an image in the readers' minds of the amount of pain that people experience. Additionally, imagery has been used in the mention of light with little oil, when the author describes the possibility of the people in pain hiding their pain behind fake smiles, which the author can recognize despite being well-hidden (Dickson, 1). Finally, the author has used the style of description to deliver the poem successfully. Through description, the author has been able to explain their pain and how it has been with them so long that they have been able to identify those who are in pain, and to some extent, suggest a working solution which has worked for them- having Jesus Christ in their lives.
