"I Shall Not Pass This Way Again" Analysis
Poem Analysis
“I Shall Not Pass This Way Again” is a short three sentence poem written by Stephen Grellet to explain how our life here on earth should be put to good use to help others instead of waiting until the last moment; it may be too late. Written by Grellet, a Roman Catholic, it is important for him, and everyone else, to follow a good path by helping others. In the first sentence, “I expect to pass through this world but once,” it states that everyone else, including him, only has one life in this world. There are no “second chances,” meaning that if you make mistakes in this life, you cannot make them up in another life. Then in the second sentence, “Any good things, therefore, that I can do, any good kindness that I can show a fellow being, let me do it now,” states that any good thing that you can do to others, do it now. Do not delay in doing good, because you never know when your time will come. As a Catholic, Grellet believed in life after death, and to get into heaven, one must have lived a good life. You must not pass opportunities because those opportunities will not be there forever. In the third and final sentence, “Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again,” it states again that you should not ignore an opportunity to do good and emphasizes once more that “I shall not pass this way again.” He restates, adding emphasis, that we only have one life to live, and in that life, we should not waste the opportunities to do good. It was Aesop that said “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted,” and Mother Teresa said “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” Kind acts are never a waste, even if it takes your attention off of material things like money and fortune. The smallest acts, or even words, although easy to do, can spread like an echo and create a chain reaction, making others do other good deeds. Although short, this poem has a powerful and well known meaning,
“I Shall Not Pass This Way Again” is a short three sentence poem written by Stephen Grellet to explain how our life here on earth should be put to good use to help others instead of waiting until the last moment; it may be too late. Written by Grellet, a Roman Catholic, it is important for him, and everyone else, to follow a good path by helping others. In the first sentence, “I expect to pass through this world but once,” it states that everyone else, including him, only has one life in this world. There are no “second chances,” meaning that if you make mistakes in this life, you cannot make them up in another life. Then in the second sentence, “Any good things, therefore, that I can do, any good kindness that I can show a fellow being, let me do it now,” states that any good thing that you can do to others, do it now. Do not delay in doing good, because you never know when your time will come. As a Catholic, Grellet believed in life after death, and to get into heaven, one must have lived a good life. You must not pass opportunities because those opportunities will not be there forever. In the third and final sentence, “Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again,” it states again that you should not ignore an opportunity to do good and emphasizes once more that “I shall not pass this way again.” He restates, adding emphasis, that we only have one life to live, and in that life, we should not waste the opportunities to do good. It was Aesop that said “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted,” and Mother Teresa said “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” Kind acts are never a waste, even if it takes your attention off of material things like money and fortune. The smallest acts, or even words, although easy to do, can spread like an echo and create a chain reaction, making others do other good deeds. Although short, this poem has a powerful and well known meaning,