I like it so much I sleep all the time.
Moon by day and sun by night find me dispersed
deep in the dreams where they appear.
The narrator of this poem explains that one of his favorite things is sleeping, for during sleep he is visited by visions of deceased loved ones in his dreams. In this quotation, the narrator explains that he has become obsessed with sleeping because dreams are now his only mode of contact with those who have passed. Regardless of the time or day—moon or sun—the narrator chooses to sleep, where he escapes into his dreams. In this way, this quotation is reflective of the man’s grieving process; he has lost touch with reality and, due to depression caused by the loss of a loved one, he now sleeps all day, so as to live solely in his dreams.
Turn around, go home.
Just to look at it is to become it.
The omniscient and unnamed narrator of this poem explores and explains the different stages of eternal life—Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. In this particular quotation, he is concluding the sequence on Hell. He encourages the reader to simply turn around and ignore what can be seen in Hell. Once one sees the inner-workings of the devil’s playground, one cannot escape it. In this way, the narrator suggests that Hell is addictive; it is dangerous; and it is corrupting. He suggests that Hell is reserved for a very small population of people—for those who accept its evil and wickedness and who are excited by the horrors they witness.
They’re dead, you understand, they don’t exist. And, besides,
why would they care? They’re subatomic, horizontal. Think about it.
In this quotation, the narrator—who is grieving the loss of his loved ones—acknowledges his obsession with the dead in his dreams. He recognizes that they are dead and are nothing more than visions, conjured by his grieving and sorrowful brain during sleep. These visions, he notes, don’t even notice nor care that they have died. This quotation, therefore, represents the narrator resuming his touch with reality. It is here that he recognizes that the people in his dreams do not feel, think, or contribute—they are quite literally a figment of his imagination. The man is realizing that his obsession with his dreams are unfounded, for those he dreams about will never re-materialize; they are gone.
He doesn’t see you as a story, though.
He feels you as his atmosphere.
This short but powerful stanza captures the selfless nature of the third friend in this poem. This third friend is homeless and, despite the fact that his friend—the first friend—is now wildly wealthy and successful, the homeless man still admires his friend’s efforts and still proud of him. The narrator of the poem reveals to the first friend that the homeless man doesn’t view him as a success story; rather, he still views him as the reliable, faithful friend he knew when they were younger. Despite his homelessness and poverty, the third friend doesn’t take the first friend for granted or ask him for favors. He is simply proud to have known someone who is so successful and prosperous. The homeless man lives vicariously through his wealthy friend and, as such, feels much closer to the first friend than anyone else ever could.
