"I felt a Funeral, in my Brain"

I felt a Funeral in my Brain,
And Mourners, to and fro,
Kept treading — treading — till it seemed
That Sense was breaking through —

And when they all were seated,
A Service like a Drum —
Kept beating — beating — till I thought
My Mind was going numb —

And then I heard them lift a Box,
And creak across my Soul
With those same Boots of Lead, again.
Then Space — began to toll

As all the Heavens were a Bell,
And Being but an Ear,
And I and Silence some strange Race,
Wrecked, solitary, here —

And then a Plank in Reason, broke,
And I dropped down, and down—
And hit a World, at every plunge,
And Finished knowing — then.

Literary Devices: Metaphor, Simile

The speaker is going through a mental breakdown in the same steps as a funeral. "The mourners" represent how the speaker is slowing down, and probably crying. When they sit down and the drums starts to beat, she feels the pounding in her head. When they lift the casket at the funeral, the speaker feels the creaking in her soul. I like this poem because it shows how quickly things can affect someone.

"I Died for Beauty, but was scarce"

I died for beauty, but was scarce
Adjusted in the tomb,
When one who died for truth was lain
In an adjoining room.

He questioned softly why I failed?
"For beauty," I replied.
"And I for truth - the two are one;
We brethren are," he said.

And so, as kinsmen met a-night,
We talked between the rooms,
Until the moss had reached our lips,
And covered up our names.

Literary Devices:

The speaker in this poem wanted to be beautiful. She eventually dies but before she was settled in her tomb another man shows up. He says that he died for truth and that truth and beaty are the same. They conversed until the moss covered their tombs.
To me, this poem says "Don't spend your whole life trying to impress others because in the end we all end up in our tombs, just for different reasons."

"I heard a Fly buzz - when I died "

I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air –
Between the Heaves of Storm –

The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset – when the King
Be witnessed – in the Room –

I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away
What portions of me be
Assignable – and then it was
There interposed a Fly –

With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz –
Between the light – and me –
And then the Windows failed – and then
I could not see to see –

Literary Devices: Simile, Symbolism

Central Purpose:

Personal Reflection: I think this poem is about how, when dying, you shouldn't fear it. I also think that the poem is saying that death is peaceful as long as you are surrounded by people that are important to you before your last breath. The speaker felt stillness in the room. People, maybe her family, were in the room with her. It seems as if the speaker was waiting on someone important to get in the room before she gave her will. The fly, representing death, comes in the poem and that is when the speaker dies.