The Way I Would Like to Die
This is the way I'd like to go, If you must know.
I would like to go while still young,
While the dew is wet on the grass;
To perish in a great air crash,
With a silver 'plane burning bright
Like a flashing star in the night;
While the huge wreckage all ablaze,
Shines brightly for my last embrace
I'd like to see the flames consume
Each nerve and bone and hair and nail,
Till of dust naught but ash remains.
Or as stone, swiftly sink unseen.
But if I should hear someone wail,
Because dust has gone back to dust,
Mad with fury, I shall return
To smite the poor wretch on the head.
So, let me go when I am young,
And the dew is still on the fern,
With a silver 'plane burning bright,
Like a flashing star in the night.
Mother, do not grieve when I'm gone!
This is my wish; I'd have it so.
This mere burden of flesh was I,
Whom you loved and tended dearly
But you, my love, where'er you be,
Remember these warm lips of mine
That poured their youthful passion out,
These wide eyes that mirrored my soul
And beheld wonders in your eyes;
This mind that godlike stood alone,
The head that lay in your gentle lap,
The very hand that held this pen,
The heart that daring reached the height
The all of me that gave you joy,
Cleansed now of all impurities
By the red all-devouring flames,
Will though dust, remain, believe me,
Part of th'eternal Mind of God.
— R. E. G. Armattoe
Summary
“The Way I Would Like to Die” by R. E. G. Armattoe is about the poetic persona’s ideal death scenario; how he wants to die. Now, this might sound morbid at first, but it’s actually a very passionate and dramatic piece of writing.
The poetic persona wants to die young and in a spectacular way—in a plane crash. He doesn’t want a quiet, peaceful death when he’s old. He repeatedly emphasises wanting to die while young, with imagery like “while the dew is wet on the grass” and “while still young,” and in a very dramatic way in a plane crash, with vivid descriptions of a “silver ‘plane burning bright” and “huge wreckage all ablaze.” It is obvious that he values youth and doesn’t want to grow old.
He wants his body to be completely destroyed in the crash with flames consuming “each nerve and bone and hair and nail,” leaving nothing behind. This represents a desire for a clean break from life, with no remnants left.
Interestingly, the speaker sees his desired death as something exciting and meaningful, not tragic, especially as he does not want to be mourned. He tells his mother not to grieve and even threatens to return in anger and hit anyone who wails over his passing!
While he wants a dramatic death, the poetic persona also cares about how he is remembered. He asks his loved one to remember him as he was in life— passionate, curious, and loving.
At the end of the poem, he talks about becoming “Part of th’eternal Mind of God.” He believes that even after this fiery death, his spirit or essence will live on in some way; that he will achieve spiritual immortality somehow.
The big takeaway is that “The Way I Would Like to Die” presents death not as something scary or sad, but as a dramatic, almost beautiful event. It presents a romanticised view of death. The poetic persona’s choice of an intense and transformative end rather than a quiet passing is a way for him to assert control over his own mortality.
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