Bad Advice

“Do not go gentle into that good night”
—Dylan Thomas

Not gentle, I went mad, as that good night
Enveloped me. What did you hope I’d gain,
My son, by perishing in rage? Less pain?
Bravado in the dying of the light?
You must have known I could not win that fight.
I cursed the darkness; then I cursed again:
A waste of precious breath! I swore in vain!
How senselessly I stormed into that night!

You stirred in me hot wrath against the fate
You thought you saw from your sad height. But No!
How wrong you were! I hurled wild words in brute
And senseless fury—till I learned, too late,
My foolish son, just what it means to go:
How strange to wake immersed in light—and mute!

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

A Critique of the New Right Misses Its Target

Robert Bellafiore

American conservatism has produced a bewildering number of factions over the years, and especially over the last…

Europe’s Fate Is America’s Business

Joshua S. Treviño

"In a second Trump term,” said former national security advisor John Bolton to the Washington Post almost…

A Commitment to Remembrance (ft. Andrew Zwerneman)

Mark Bauerlein

In the ​latest installment of the ongoing interview series with contributing editor Mark Bauerlein, Andrew Zwerneman joins…