Lit

In the poem ‘A Contemplation of Flowers’ written by Henry King and ‘Once Upon A Time’ written by Gabriel Okara, both speak of and expresses regret by the persona in the way he had lived his life. Both personas illustrate how they wished that their situation would have been different by expressing their desires in poetic devices such as rhyme, alliteration, reputation, etc, etc.
In ‘A Contemplation of Flowers,’ the poet speaks about a man who has an admiration for flowers. The persona is marvelled at the life of a flower and in this poem he compares it to his own life. Within the entire poem the persona focuses on the characteristics of flowers. From this description given, it shows that he wishes he could be more like the flower. In each stanza, phrases are highlighted to show how he wished that his life had a marked resemblance to that of a flower. For example, in stanza two, the persona “Would have it ever Spring: My fate would know no Winter, never die, Nor think of such a thing.” He would rather the flowers always flourish (spring), likewise he wished that he himself would always live and never die like the flowers do during the winter season. “O that I could my bed of earth but view and smile, and look as cheerfully as you!” is also another evidence from the poem where he wishes he could go to the earth (his grave), and look as cheerful, and smile, as the flowers do when they go to their earth (die). The second stanza essentially shows that the speaker learns to accept nature and for today the flowers in the field may be beautiful and blooming but tomorrow the flowers know their beauty will not last forever where they may withered away and torn to pieces which is in contrast to how he wants to live his life in that he doesn’t want to die. In short, stanza three also illustrates that he lived his life in fear where it speaks of how he wishes that the flowers would teach him not to fear death but rather to accept it, “O teach me to see Death and not to fear.”