Poem+Comparison

4. Summer

I'm in the back garden, dead-heading fuchsias at summer's end. Around me are poppies and the perfume of stargazer lilies. I'm thinking of how this summer of death has so quickly passed. My friend's father, dead suddenly at his desk.

Another friend's mother with cancer of the pancreas, stopped eating, died with grace. My mother. And her slow dying. Her mind gone, she sleeps all day.

Imagines, when awake, she's on a cruise ship. Music and dancing Under the stars. Stargazer lilies everywhere. Perhaps she could waltz. Not this summer. Not this. Summer. 12. Sleep

 The evening hangs beneath the moon A silver thread on darkened dune with closing eyes and resting head I know that sleep is coming soon

Upon my pillow, safe in bed A thousand pictures fill my head I cannot sleep my minds a flight And yet my limbs seem made of lead

If there are noises in the night A frightening shadow, flickering light Then I surrender unto sleep

Where clouds of dreams give second sight

What dreams may come both dark and deep

Of flying wings and soaring leap

As I surrender unto sleep As I surrender unto sleep

= **__The Identical__** = The 2 poems are identical because they both are implying death everywhere. Death is their main meaning to their poems. Both poems describe on how cruel and unfair death is. Both of the poems seem if they were talking about how death will be depressing, yet people must move on no matter what. Both have many symbols that represent a whole lot of stuff. One more similarity is that they both clearly state how they're feeling.

=**__The Differences__**= The difference between Summer and Sleep is that Summer is about the death of others and Sleep is the death of himself. Also, the difference could be that summer is solemn, but it lingers a thankful thought, but Sleep attaches to your mind, leaving depressing thought. Another difference is that Summer speaks very directly, which gets to the point more than Sleep, which implies a lot of stuff. Sleep, hides a deep meaning into what it's talking about, but Summer is exactly what it's presenting. I personally think that Sleep is more deep, as the writer of the poem, Eric Whitacre, put tons of meaningful words in there, with not one excessive word. Also, Sleep gives out this old kind of feeling. Summer seems like it was made a couple years ago with words like cruise ships, if not recent. The difference in structure is that Sleep has an end rhyme. Sleep's rhyme is mainly AABA and Summer doesn't have one. Sleep also have a 8 syllable rhythm while Summer doesn't have one. Overall, The poem's theme may be the same, but they have so much that's not in common. One glance may make you think that they're the same, but the are completely different if you analyze it.