"Of Dewit Williams" by Gwendolyn Brooks

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Life is something you should have. But life is not something neither you, nor I can count on. It is easy to end, at the drop of a dime in fact, but quite hard to start. Dying is the easiest thing we can do, especially if we have nothing. However, living is the most difficult thing that a human can endure. Everyone dies, not everyone lives. Many just do not know how to "throw caution to the wind". Not in the sense that we should live wild and stupid, but take a chance to do something with our lives and make a difference; so that when we die, we are not just simply forgotten.
The poem, "Of DeWitt Williams" by Gwendolyn Brooks is still quite relevant, to some extent, in The Bahamas in this day and age. Unlike the character portrayed in the poem, we are no longer slaves that didn't have much to look forward to and patiently waited for happiness in the next life. We are individuals who have taken advantage of the freedom, which was fought for by our forefathers. Even though we may be free, we are still mentally enslaved within our minds, not letting go of what happened in the past.
However, the poem does convey striking similarities to some of the youth in this country. The youth, moreover the young men, are quite similar to that of the young man in the poem. Like the man in the poem, the young men in this country are dying. When they die they leave absolutely nothing behind, but a mother and sometimes children to mourn for them. However, when time passes, they are forgotten and the mother and children move on.
The lived life carelessly day to day which ultimately led their final home, six feet under. Being vaguely remembered for their time spent on earth. Is this what freedom fighters fought for? Is this the common goal that our national anthem sings of? Is living worthless, carefree lives the only thing that we want to be remembered for? Why are some of us so blind
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