"I Believe"--Robert Fulghum

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge - myth is more potent than history - dreams are more powerful than facts - hope always triumphs over experience - laughter is the cure for grief - love is stronger than death”

It is clear to me that the message the author is trying to articulate is that determination is a very powerful aspect of life. That if you have an aspiration to fufill, it is possible as long as you are consistant and ambitious. If complications appear, or someone is doubtful of your abilities, you must remember that "imagination is stronger than knowledge", (personification), that if you believe you can accomplish something, there is no obstacle you cant overcome. This poem makes me believe that I can achieve anything I put effort into.
In every phrase of this poem, personification is used. Although to me, the quote, "laughter is the cure for grief," is a metaphor that can also be interpreted as a use of symbolism. It is a metaphor because it is not physically a 'cure' for grief, but rather an advance in the right direction. It can also be symbolism, being that the laughter represents happiness or an improvement in becoming more cheerful.
From the poem "I believe" by Robert Fulghum, the quote "laughter is a cure for grief" made me wonder how true that statement really is. I understood that laughter is happiness, and happiness eases the pain of grief, but it turns out laughter does a lot more than just make you happy.
A dose of laughter keeps your heart younger!
BY K K AGGARWAL
DR K K Aggarwal, Executive Vice-Chairman of Heart Care Foundation of India and President Elect, Delhi Medical Association, inaugurating a session on humour and health in the Capital recently, said that all hospitals should add humour department in their institutional setting. They should have a humour coordinator and a humour room.
Studies from all over the world have shown that an atmosphere of humour results in better patient cure, less anaesthesia time, less operating time and lesser hospital stay.
Dr Aggarwal said that patients could add a daily dose of laughter—by watching a funny video for instance. Apart from advising regular exercise and a low-fat diet, all doctors should advice laughter two to three times a day. People who laugh a lot are less likely to be stressed, is a well-known observation in the medical fraternity. Stressed, anxious or depressed people also are more likely to smoke, be physically inactive and rely on high fat 'comfort foods' and alcohol as part of their coping strategy.
Talking about laughter, Dr Aggarwal said that the act of laughing releases chemicals that affect the blood vessels, perhaps like nitric oxide, known to dilate blood vessels. The chemical, related to the nitrous oxide used to relax dental patients, is already targeted by some heart drugs.

"Cool"--Gwen Steffani

It's hard to remember how it felt before
Now I found the love of my life
Passes things, get more comfortable
Everything is going right
And after all the obstacles
It's good to see you now with someone else
And it's such a miracle that you and me are still good friends
After all that we've been through
I know we're cool
I know we're cool
And we used to think it was impossible
Now you call me by my new last name
Memories seem like so long ago
Time always kills the pain
Remember Harbor Boulevard
The dreaming days where the mess was made
Look how all the kids have grown, oh
We have changed but we're still the same
After all that we've been through
I know we're cool
I know we're cool
Yeah, I know we're cool
And I'll be happy for you
If you can be happy for me
Circles and triangles
And now we're hanging out with your new girlfriend
So far from where we've been
I know we're cool
I know we're cool
C-cool, uh-uh
I know we're cool, uh-uh
Uh, I know we're cool
C-cool, yeah
I know we're cool
You knew...

This song is about a guy and a girl who were once in love, but then broke up and remained good friends. I found this song interesting because usually after a break up, its not always easy to make the transition into a friendly relationship. This song actually reminds me a lot about a relationship I had last summer. When summer ended, so did our feelings for each other. Though, my ex and I still remained good friends and have progressed into different relationships since then. It was a slow process, and we still had our arguments at first, but eventually we were able to put our differences into the past, and focus on all the good times we had on those long summer days.
When Gwen sings the metaphor, “Time always kills the pain”, she means that becoming friends right after breaking up is really difficult and frustrating. Often at least one person in the couple will still have feelings for the other, making it harder to see them again. If you wait a while after, the time spent apart allows you to move on and possibly find someone new when you have successfully healed.

In my opinion, "The Healing Heart" by Gary R. Hess is similar to the song "Cool" by Gwen Steffani because their theme is both about moving on and continuing happiness. In Gwen's song, she talks about the obstacles her and her ex had to face in the past, and that they are able to keep it behind them. "And I'll be happy for you If you can be happy for me," Gwen says eventually as the former couple meet eachothers new loves. During the poem of "The Healing Heart", Gary sounds like he is struggling at first to adjust to a single life, but then "Sadness comes to an end/[and]happiness conqueres hate". That he has recovered from his breakup, and has found someone else. Feeling better and moving forward, his hope has been regained.

"The Healing Heart"--Gary R. Hess
Shattered heart forced to heal
as greatness unveils thine soul.
Hope whispered in the distance,
to recover thine lost love.
'Tis night brings tender passing,
healing thine soul with glorious blunder.
Caus' not one or two,
but dissipated nights of dreams.
Sadness comes to end,
happiness conquered hate.
Love sprouting -- sadness shrinking,
hope has come again.

"Do Not Stand at My Grave and Weep"

-Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glint on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn rain. When you wake in the morning hush, I am the swift, uplifting rush of quiet birds in circling flight. I am the soft starlight at night. Do not stand at my grave and weep. I am not there, I do not sleep. Do not stand at my grave and cry. I am not there, I did not die!

Certain expressions she used made me think about how a persons body has nothing to do with who they are. That all the body does is contain your soul, and when a body shuts down, the soul is not connected to that tragedy. Therefore, when the author writes, “I am not there, I did not die!” she is saying that her body may be in the graveyard, but her spirit is eternal. It is a more light-hearted perspective in the topic of death and losing someone you love, and it is comforting to know. It made me realize you may never speak or see them again in person, but it doesn't mean they are not still there caring and watching over you. Mary uses environmental metaphors to imply that she still takes part in natures everyday life. That seeing the wind blow, or the sun shine is just a subtle reminder that she has not abandoned the people she loves.

Reading this poem, I loved the way the poet described herself being in everyday life, even after her death. Someone who loves her was mourning at her grave, and she comforted the person by expressing that her spirit is still alive and will never leave them. “I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond glint in the snow…etc.” I believe, from my own personal experiences,
that the death of a loved one is one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome. I have this opinion because when they are gone and you miss them, they can never come back. It is a concept where you never really get over it, you just get used to it. The reality that you will never be able to physically talk or see them ever again. I liked the fact that the author explained she was still there mentally, and that she would always be.

The author explains that although she is gone, her soul is still alive to watch over the people she loves. I chose this white lily to represent this poem because of the contrast the author uses between life and death. This lily reminds me of this poem, because to me a flower represents life, but the irony is that the colour white is a symbol of death.

I believe that the poem "Death" by Emily Dickonson connects to "Do not stand at my grave and weep" because of the metaphors used. Reading "Death", it is written in a way that in one sense may not seem like death at all, and in the poem i chose Mary Frye is stating that she did not die, and that her spirit lives on.
Death--Emily Dickonson
Because I could not stop for Death,He kindly stopped for me;The carriage held but just ourselvesAnd Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put awayMy labor, and my leisure too,For his civility.
We passed the school, where children stroveAt recess, in the ring;We passed the fields of gazing grain,We passed the setting sun.
Or rather, be passed us;The dews grew quivering and chill,For only gossamer my gown,My tippet only tulle.
We paused before house that seemedA swelling of the ground;The roof was scarcely visible,The cornice but a mound.
Since then 'tis centuries, and yet eachFeels shorter than the dayI first surmised the horses' headsWere toward eternity.