Poem Analysis: Life On Mars

Life on Mars by Smith has a somewhat similar focus, where the speaker finds herself doing something similar to that of her father. This occurs as part of the eulogy, “Speed of Belief,” specifically the second page where the speaker sits to eat as she reflects on the loss of her father. The second part of this long poem starts off with the line “When your own sweet father died.” The 'your' is referring to her father, and the first stanza talks about how he lost his father—her grandfather—sometime in the past. He must have told her that after his father's death, he woke up early in the morning and ate breakfast. The speaker specifies in what he ate, as if she remembers these little things the day after a heartbreaking situation. Even if she was not involved in the scene at …show more content…
And that is what triggered a memory of her father sitting in the same spot, having breakfast after his own father died. This is a moment where they both are sharing a similar feeling of loss and grief. Even if her father is no longer there, she still feels a connection to him because of her memories of him. As said, memories do so much more than be something to remember loved ones by. We connect with our loved ones, through sharing similar experiences, even after they have left us. Because of these moments where they share tragedies, the speaker thinks of her father and thinks back to the night she lost her father, where she and her mother “prayed / You'd come back safe, / knowing you would.” All of this comes from sitting down to have breakfast in the wake of tragedy. Here, when the speaker writes “I sat in your place,” it does not just refer to her sitting in the same seat as he did. Rather, it has a more symbolic meaning. She is following that tragic trend of losing a father, and grieving about it the next day. And while she may be eating alone at her house, she may not be entirely