essay (A coney island life)

  The world today consists of many people that are starting to take the world for granted. Many do not realize that time doesn’t wait for anyone which is why one must value every single accomplishment, enjoy every minute, fulfill our hopes and dreams, and appreciate the many things we have in life. In the poem “A Coney Island Life”, the poet James L. Weil compares life to his time at Coney Island.  In this poem the poet is telling his readers the fact that all of what he has hoped and dreamed for is vanishing and is describing it as his one last ride. 

  The poem tells the readers that you must use your time wisely in order to have the life you’ve dreamed of. This poem consists of many hidden meaning behind each line such as “Having lived a Coney Island life, on roller coaster ups and downs”, James L. Weil is using the roller coasters to describe the many hardships and also the good things that had happen throughout his life. Another quote from this poem is “and seen my helium hopes, break skyward without me”, this is telling the people that the helium or in another form, a balloon, represents his hopes and dreams and it’s floating away from him, leaving him unable to do anything about it except watch as it “breaks skyward” or leaves without him. 

    Although this is a poem that doesn’t consist of many lines or stanzas, it holds much meaning within its content. “I take perhaps my last my last ride on this planet-carousel and ask, how many more times round”, these lines symbolize his last few chances to make a difference in his life and the poet asks himself how much longer does he have, or how many years does he have left to live. Finally the piece that completes the poem, “I have to catch the brass ring sun before the game is up”, the brass ring describes the last remaining chances he has before the ride, in other words his life, comes to an end. 

  Through metaphor and simile the poet relates the success, hardships, and limitations of life to a game at the carnival. In life, opportunities will come our way and we have to make sure we don't take them for granted.  Time is very precious and we can't expect life to wait on us to understand the beauty of the lives we live. Every moment of your life counts and you don't realize how much you really have until your faced with the end. Through metaphors and similes, the poet portrays that life is short so we must appreciate life before times up. Therefore, he makes us think about our personal lives.