Poem One:
The Last Waltz
By Snehal Amembal Shiralkar
Shiralkar, Snehal Amembal. "The Last Waltz." PoemHunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2011. http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-last-waltz-2/

The author illustrates a love story coming to a tragic end with death. Romance is always fun to read and the incorporation of death adds a typically sad ending to the love story. The part of the poem that focuses on the care of the dead are the last two lines,
“You've lived your life', it gestured,
‘There is no second chance'....”
To me the point here is something similar to that in Harold and Maude, where you should live your life to the fullest because there is nothing beyond death.

Poem Two:
Death in the Morning
By Ronberge Anno Tercia
Tercio, Ronberge Anno. "Death in the Morning." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011. http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/free-form-death-in-the-morning-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death-death/

The author writes a touching poem sharing the relationship the protagonist and the dead man had. They could have been lovers, friends, or even family, but regardless it was obvious that he meant a lot to her and they spent time together. The author refers to the body as furniture, which could mean several things. The furniture is obviously a metaphor but is it giving value to the dead or depreciating value?

Poem Three:
Its Death Again
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R."It’s Death Again." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/it-s-death-again/

This poem somehow has a cheerful despite its topic. The protagonist seems to be fearful of death as he/she is constantly on the lookout for it. Death is inevitable and you cannot avoid it, so there is no point in trying to run from it, it will find you. I predict that this person would desire cremation solely because he/she seems like an adventurous person given the tone of the writing and the portrayal of the characters movements.

Poem Four:
Beldame of Death
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R. "Beldame of Death." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/beldame-of-death/

This was a very confusing poem to me. The language used was particularly confusing and the actual goal or theme of the poem was difficult to identify. It seems as if the author wants to tell the reader to be weary of your actions because death can strike at any moment, so be prepared. The character here seemed to be cursed somehow, which made his/her death far more painful in several aspects.

Poem Five:
Musings
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R. "Musings." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/musings-15/

The bones seem to be symbolic of death. The author uses bones and everything around or even inside bones metaphorically to symbolize life and death. I enjoyed the line, “Of flesh in life – they’re marrowless!” I see this as a connection to the soul/spirit and body contrast as the marrow is the spirit and the bone itself is the body the spirit inhabits, so a bone with no marrow is like a body without a soul: dead.

Poem Six:
A Fresh Endeavour
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R."A Fresh Endeavour." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-fresh-endeavour/

This poem tells a story of the man (or woman) that lost his (or her) wife. The man accepts her death and embraces it rather than being saddened to a point where he takes it out on himself. His beliefs in regards to post-death give him some kind of reassurance that he and his wife will not be apart forever. I would very much like to believe that his beliefs are true because I know that being away from my soul mate forever would be the hardest thing I ever had to do and I honestly do not know if I can get past something like that.

Poem Seven:
Death and I
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R. "Death and I." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-and-i/

This is a much more straightforward poem. The author discusses his relationship with death. He mentions that when he dies that nothing will matter and he will be just a memory, so he does not seem to believe in the afterlife. He acknowledges that death is inevitable which likely allows him to think about and discuss it in a less stressful, freer, way.

Poem Eight:
Night Close
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R. "Night Close." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/night-close/

Reading this poem created a very dark and gloomy image in my mind. This is normally what is considered the typical setting of death, at least by shade. Again the Slaughter shares his beliefs on death as he makes it clear that you cannot avoid it. Maybe being in a nightly setting simply inspired this piece of work.

Poem Nine:
In Death, My Final Part
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R. "In Death, My Final Part." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/in-death-my-final-part/

The author now seems to have a desire to challenge death. I do not see any logical, sane, way to challenge death aside from taking it from yourself. If you kill yourself, you are not giving nature fate a chance to allow you to die naturally, or how you would have otherwise. On the other hand, it may have been fate for you to commit suicide, but regardless the point is that you cannot escape death in the end no matter what you do.

Poem Ten:
Death’s Too Near
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R. "Death’s Too Near." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-s-too-near/

Apparently my interpretations of the authors emotions to death have been inaccurate. “Don’t you understand the fear
You trigger deep within my soul–?”
I thought that Slaughter was not afraid of death and welcomed it, which is not the case. It is possible that his acceptance of his own fear allows him to write so freely about death.

Poem Eleven:
Body
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R. "Body." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-body-11/

This was by far the most powerful of the poems I have read so far. It went from aspects of life to how none of it really matters because at some point we will all be dead. Another message that this poem sends is to take advantage of all the time that you have because it does not last forever.

Poem Twelve:
Death, My Friend
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R. "Death, My Friend." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-my-friend-2/

This poem changes the pace in comparison to the recent poems I have read by Slaughter. He goes back to the welcoming tone towards death speaking as if he even befriended death. This may be one way that he copes with his fear; he also mentions the spirit being separate from the body and the heaven-hell contrast which is interesting given his other pieces of work that lean towards nothingness post-death.

Poem Thirteen:
Death
By Nick Andrew Smith
Smith, Nick Andrew. "Death." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-423/

This was one of the more boring poems I have read. It was over simplistic and too plain, however I was intrigued by the author referring to heaven or hell while still having death as the end. A religious reference like this does not correlate with death being the final chapter, it continues with heaven or hell.

Poem Fourteen:
Death, Inevitable Death
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R. "Death, Inevitable Death." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/death-inevitable-death/

This poem is very self explanatory as the author simply talks about how death is inescapable. One thing I continue to find interesting is how religious references can be made and still have such fear of death. If you believe in a religion and you believe that you will be going to heaven or hell when you die, what’s to be afraid of? If you have doubts then you do not truly believe, and if you do not have doubts there should not be any fear.

Poem Fifteen:
Punishment
By Mark R. Slaughter
Slaughter, Mark R. "Punishment." PoemHunter.com. N.p.,n.d. Web 18 May 2011.
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/punishment-16/

This poem is far more religiously centered than any that I have read. It focuses on how god will punish you for your actions. By displeasing god you will find yourself “in this prison!” which I believe is a metaphor for hell. The author shares his religious perspectives in this poem rather than the more common perspective, where death is simply the end.


Analysis
The two poems that I liked best (I could not choose between them) were poems ten and twelve, “Death’s too Near” and “Death, My Friend,” both by Mark R. Slaughter. “Death, My Friend” refers to death as a peer of the protagonist. This misleads the reader to believing that the author is not fearful of death and actually embraces it. “Death’s too near” on the other hand is a more honest portrayal of the author’s views. If you look above to the more brief analysis you can see that there is a quote where he actually states that he is afraid.
There are many other pieces by Slaughter where he portrays himself to be fearless of death; however it is likely just a tactic to avoid facing his fears. Unfortunately these poems did not make clear references to the actual care of the dead outside of religion and what he believes happens to the soul as opposed to the body. While several references were made to heaven and hell, I am still unsure of Slaughters position regarding what happens after death. He has pieces that say the soul and body separate to no specific location as well as those where the soul goes to heaven or hell. He also has several where death is just the end, nothing else. I would really having a conversation with this man to see what he truly things and how he expresses those views and ideas in his work or in other ways.