New Life

In my sonnet, “New Life”, I wanted to show the cycle of life. Even though we are all going to die, it doesn’t mean that we are gone forever. Our spirit can still live on into “a fresh undiscovered new life.” Through my poem I also wanted to capture a tiny glimpse of how I imagined heaven to be.
I started my poem with the metaphor of a butterfly. It is a miracle of nature that everyone is familiar with. By showing “A small butterfly breaking through its cocoon” and placing it in a magical setting “under the bright moon” with dance and music, it pulls the reader into a fantasy, but a fantasy that is still very real. It allows you to see the butterfly’s transformation and starting a new beginning. Through using the butterfly I wanted to show how something like a simple caterpillar can transform into something as beautiful as a butterfly. Though the caterpillar’s life comes to a close, a new chapter of its life begins. This remains true for people as well. As our human lives must come to an end, a new even better life awaits us, which I think is in heaven.
In my second stanza I show myself dying and awakening to heaven. “My eyes gently close as I drift away”. Though in this line it shows me passing away, I wanted it to seem that it wasn’t a bad, scary thing. I wanted to show that I was at peace when I died, that I was satisfied with the life I had lived, and that was ready to take on a new chapter. Then as I “awaken to rays of streaming light”, it shows me waking up into heaven. The bright light and “captivating melodies” are just a glimpse of how I imagine heaven to be. I imagine heaven to be a glorious, pure place, where there is no hate, no fear, and no crime, just a place full of happiness and love. The transformation to my death, with light, music, and dance, is set as a fantasy similar to the birth of the butterfly in the first stanza. Then in the last line of the stanza, I see “a beautiful woman garnished in white”, which represents an angel that’s there in heaven, sent to greet you. I wanted to add an angel into my poem because I think I had a personal experience with one. When I was little I had to go through heart surgery. My mom said that when I woke up, I spoke of a lady dressed in white that was talking to me throughout the surgery, letting me know that everything was going to be alright.
In my third stanza I tried to show how beautiful this angel is, “Her aquamarine eyes softly glisten, against her placid smooth ivory skin.” I believe that in heaven your outer beauty is reflected by the goodness of your heart and soul. It is not just luck of the draw or a reflection of your parents like it is on earth. Then in the second part of the stanza, “She takes my hand as time stops to listen.” I wanted to show that this was such an amazing moment, for me nothing else seems to matter, my worries are melted away, and time just seems to stop. Then as we’re “gliding through the air”, it’s almost like we’re dancing through the heavens. This represents a fresh start and my new life beginning.
For the end of my poem I show “the heavenly sprit casts its spell.” This means that it’s almost like God’s put a spell on me and I’ve been entranced by this beautiful place and the amazing spirits around me. In the line, “I’m dancing along side with the angels”, I wanted to capture the joy of heaven through a dance with the angels. Throughout the course of the poem I share how life and death are not so different, and how I have transformed from my human self to a new spirit in heaven, just like the simple caterpillar transformed into a beautiful butterfly.