'Time Flies' essay

Time Flies

Autumn leaves 

Springtime bloom

Summers sun 

Gone to soon 

Winters comes 

An icy blast 

Another year 

Just flown past 

 Say goodbye 

 It is time to die 

Far in the future 

 Believed it was 

 Fresh and full of ego 

Young not too long ago 

Days ignored 

Did not stop and appreciate 

Now it is too late 

 Time to let go 

Mind and body 

Both say it is so 

Terrified? 

 Rest easy my friend 

Do not be afraid 

Your journey is beginning 

It is not the end

"It is not the end" Time flies is a powerful imagist poem. It expresses the idea of time by using imagery. Each stanza explains a different aspect of time but as a whole the poem transfers an important message. At the very end of the last stanza, the poet introduces a new view point that changes the main idea of the poem. 

The first stanza of this poem is its introduction. The whole poem is about time flying, but the first stanza uses the four seasons to symbolize the different times in life. The idea of the four seasons represents another year passing. Each season has its own characteristic, which is memsioned in the poem and this helps pass on the message of the changes in life. 'Springtime bloom' represents rebirth, 'Autumn leaves' represents the colour change of nature. In this stanza the writer uses 'gone to soon' and 'another year just flown past' to help move along the poem, and introduce a new idea in the next stanza, while still emphasising the main message; time flies. 

The second stanza expands the idea of time. It is about the worth of time. The writer explains how he didn't appreciate time when he was 'fresh and full of ego' and wishes he would've. When he was young he thought he had a lot of time 'Days ignored, did not stop and appreciate' but now he knows he dosn't. 'Say goodbye, it is time to die' is telling you that his time had passed. The second stanza leads on to the unexpected message of the last one. 

The last stanza is broken into two sections. The first four lines reflect the second stanza because the second stanza tells you 'say goodbye, it is time to die'. Reading the first four lines of the last stanza you feel like its the end, but it proves you wrong by saying 'rest easy my friend, do not be afraid'. At the very end of the poem, the writer tells you 'your journey is begining, it is not the end' changing the whole meaning of the poem. The last stanza uses the idea of the second stanza, but at the same time it changes the way you think about the whole poem.