when i was storing avy codes in notepad i needed 2 or 3 words to remember them seperately and it got hard when they were similer
if i was to remember this poem, it would be recalled in my memory as "the poem with the yellow snow"
which is strange because you specifically said "stuff" and not snow. its the thing that sticks out for me as i generally wouldnt feel comfortable reading out a poem about wee socially. i think the word "stuff" forces us to question what it actually is, and ive heard the phrase before so i fill in the gaps ("dont eat yellow snow")
you guys are really clever, and im tryingt to understand what your saying
if i can just comment and "break down" a few ways in which i view the poem
for me it is a poem about contrasts, with your title of this forum post it leads me to see it in a certain way. where you say "broken down - to be renewed" i see it meaning phoenix rising from the flames. but i find the poem melancholic, as if seeing the years pass away rather then, seeing it as a new year and a fresh start.
i dont want to write an english lesson when really im not very good..here goes..
As another year comes to pass, [color="#0000FF"](links with the end forming a cyclicular nature to the poem indicating we should see it as such even in the first lines)[/color]
I come to think, as you do, [color="#0000FF"] ("come to think" suggests time to think, suggests age of the poem writer/speaker)[/color]
About the little things that make it last,
About the many, and the few,
I come to think about life,
Death, and all beside,
About the harmony,
That we supposedly reside, [color="#0000FF"] (almost resentment in the sarcastic word "supposedly" consider placement od Death (and caps..) and trio of sad emotions)[/color]
And the discontent, the melancholy,
The happy, and the sad,
[color="#0000FF"] (from sad melancholic, a dream jump to something nice, "flames of happiness" from the low of the last stanza, creating an up and down journey of emotions for us to travel on as we read/listen)[/color]
I think of bread baking,
In the rising sun,
Looking out to the hillocks,
Waiting for it to come,
[color="#0000FF"]
(from the dream to the reality shock at the end, the waiting for death as i see it, "waiting for it to come" all the thinking of "the little things that make it last" life seems futile here, and the waiting is again picked up at the end)[/color]
Of the snow,
Falling on my tongue,
But don't eat the yellow stuff,
Said the old man to the young, [color="#0000FF"]FROM YOUNG[/color]
Another year passes,
One more yet to come,
I sit and put on my glasses, [color="#0000FF"]TO OLD im dunno this bloke just doesnt seem happy! hum sounds to me like a humdrum, and all that waiting Geez![/color]
And wait whilst I hum.
the redeeming nature of this melancholic poem about a man waiting for death, is saved by his memories and nice thoughts, not only does it "balance" it out so i dont want to commit suicide after reading it, it also seems to be one of the ways that the old man is dealing with his bad thoughts, by countering them with good ones of his own past
none of what ive just written is what i wanted to say really, all junky, thanks in advance for attempting to read it
basically a thoughtful reflective moan with a hint of resentment/bitterness, which softens to a waiting hum, when he reaches into the safety of his memories, "renewing" a senceof purpose and vigour even if thatis only by cutting the resentment out
even if i have made glaring errors in understanding the depth of the poem, this is what i would pick up from reading it, good fun!
In relation to your question, after reading and travelling through your poem i would answer
when we experience big loss such as death or a losing a good friend/partner it takes time to "renew" yourself, unlike the man here who is experiencing "hum drum" as he is waiting, he should be like the boy or the person baking bread. Not just melacholically looking back at his life (or in my example a relationship/marriage break up/ death) with pockets of nice thoughts amoung the bad, but actually Doing the baking and being the grandad, and getting out there
if he sits around and mopes at home, the years will flit by, he needs to create memories, new ones, which fade out all the painful bad ones
maybe because im sad at breakup that i see it like this, but its been enjoyable putting some thought down on paper