Anna Holt
May 19, 2009
Mr. Salsich
English 9

Carpe Diem:
A Passage, A Stone, and A Wish

Breath in. Feel air as it sinks into your body, warm spring air with the promise of summer lingering somewhere nearby. As you release this air, say goodbye. Bid a sweet farewell, for it will never return in the precise state. Similarly, a poem will never be read twice the same way. A garden rock will look different each time it is gazed upon no matter how stable it is. Time will not stand still. Embrace today.

A certain passage of Rainer Maria Rilke's speaks about the ever-changing world. However, it has an underlying theme of seizing the moment. As the old Latin scholars have taught us, Carpe Diem. Every opportunity, we must take, because as Rilke mentions, "life is transformation." It is constantly changing, and the opportunities we have one moment will be gone the next. Everything and anything we "encounter" is unique in itself, a beautiful oddity that we may never again have the honor of seeing. We must see everything as surreal, for time is fleeting. These beauties around us, these "things [that] sense our avid interest," are fleeting. Life will not wait for us to catch up on the things we have failed to acknowledge.

There are some things that seem to challenge this proactive view of living. At a glance, the garden stone that sits on Mr. Salsich's desk contradicts what Rilke is teaching in this passage. Solid and still, (appositive-opener) a rock is a dull constant that remains unfazed (FAST) by the changes in its environment. It is a perfect contradiction to Rilke's teachings that "life is transformation," because a rock is almost entirely unchanging. However, perhaps Rilke is trying to make the point that we are what is changing. To us, each moment is unique, whether or not our surroundings are stable. Perhaps the things around us will stay exactly as they are for all of eternity, but we will not. The garden stone will, technically, look the same every time we look at it. However, as we grow and gain insight, the rock will become something different. Perhaps one morning it will look like a weapon, and the next it will be, to us, a piece of art, and maybe one day it will turn into a simple beauty that nature has presented for our enjoyment. We will change. Time will change, and each moment is its own.

Rilke's message represents everything I wish to be. I wish to love time the way I love the most splendid attributes of my life. I wish to love each moment as if it were better than the last, to take advantage of a truly ever-changing world and live it all. Recently, I have been neglecting (FAST) these wishes. They have been forgotten in a rush of studies, a wave of energy, a storm of fear, and an overwhelming sensation of loss (Tetracoleon climax). Today, I pledge to re-construct these wishes and to enjoy my last three weeks at a place a call home. I will expand each moment to be worth just as much as it should be, for "the possibility of intensifying things so that they reveal their essence depends [...]on our participation." I will remember Rilke's words, knowing, as I make my way through these last few weeks, that today will never exist again.(Participle-closer) Every moment of emotion will be "vastly heightened" by appreciation. I will seize the day. (Purposeful Repitition- 'I will")

Whether it be in a poem, a garden stone, or perhaps an armature (FAST) high school essay, let something teach you this lesson: The world will continue to turn even as your life comes to a halt. The stars will still rise and the wind will still fall. Life will not love us tomorrow if we fail to recognize the things it offers today. (antithesis) Go now, away from this essay and away from your worries, I beg you. Another moment has just slipped by: Carpe Diem.

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Self Assessment:
I really enjoyed writing this essay. I liked the topic and I think I did a good job making my point clear. I also like my repetition of "Carpe Diem," and i think it will leave an impression on the reader. I wish that I had paid more attention to the special tools before the last minute. I had some trouble finding a place for antithesis and also for tetracolon climax. I also think this essay might be a little repetitive and wish i had made it longer so that i could have expanded on my ideas in more specific ways. I also think that the second body paragraph lacks some grace and elegance. Perhaps this happened because i made such a big effort to clarify my thought. I would give myself an A- on this essay