Dylan Thomas is my favorite poet. There, I said it. I know he's obscure, almost opaque. I know he was too impressed with his ability to wring meanings out of words in a seemingly random pattern. Still . . .
Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion. "And Death Shall Have No Dominion" is Dylan Thomas's greatest work, and far less opaque than most. These lines will be inscribed on my tombstone, which should give a bit of an insight into how important to me this poem really is. I have had death anxiety since my heart attack and I have been working it out in therapy for years. Fortunately, the feeling of impending doom is largely gone. The fear of going to sleep and never waking up is far less intense. This poem is part of my therapy and I recite it often to myself, a reminder that we do not know what waits behind that final door. Clearly I am not alone in my love for this poem. Here a lady found the song inside the poem: This version of the poem is from Poem Hunter: And death shall have no dominion. Dead man naked they shall be one With the man in the wind and the west moon; When their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone, They shall have stars at elbow and foot; Though they go mad they shall be sane, Though they sink through the sea they shall rise again; Though lovers be lost love shall not; And death shall have no dominion. And death shall have no dominion. Under the windings of the sea They lying long shall not die windily; Twisting on racks when sinews give way, Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break; Faith in their hands shall snap in two, And the unicorn evils run them through; Split all ends up they shan't crack; And death shall have no dominion. And death shall have no dominion. No more may gulls cry at their ears Or waves break loud on the seashores; Where blew a flower may a flower no more Lift its head to the blows of the rain; Though they be mad and dead as nails, Heads of the characters hammer through daisies; Break in the sun till the sun breaks down, And death shall have no dominion.
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