Thomas Hardy

I enjoyed a lot of Hardy's work, but the one that stuck out to me the most was "Logs on the Hearth (A Memory of a Sister)". This poem was emotional and seems to be very meaningful to Hardy. It is about the loss of his sister, so I think anyone who has lost someone close to them can relate to this poem. I know that, similar to this poem, I love to sit around and reminisce about my childhood and all of the fun things my siblings and I did, but I am so lucky to still have my siblings around. I can not even imagine how hard it would be to lose one of my siblings and not be able to continue making memories and discussing the past memories that we have already created.

The poem begins, "The fire advances along the log/ Of the tree we felled,/ Which bloomed and bore striped apples by the peck/ Till its last hour of bearing knelled." (1-4). In these lines the speaker is in the present speaking of a tree that they cut down and are now burning as firewood. It is clear that the speaker is upset about this tree being burnt because the next few lines reveal all of the memories that he experienced with this tree. he writes, "The fork that first my hand would reach/ And then my foot/ In climbings upward inch by inch, lies now/Sawn, sapless, darkening with soot."(5-8). In these lines the speaker is looking back into the past. He experienced this tree all through his childhood because he remembers when only his hands would reach the tree, but slowly his feet were able to reach, but now this tree that he grew with is gone. It is dead and no longer grows with him. I think that this tree is not only representing a tree that he played on when he was young, but it also represents his sister. He grew with his sister and she was probably there every step of the way for him, but now she is dead and she can no longer experience these things with him.

The next lines state, "Where the bark chars is where, one year,/ It was pruned, and bled-/
Then overgrew the wound. But now, at last,/ Its growings all have stagnated."(9-12). These lines are indicating that this tree was pruned one year ago, but the tree was able to overcome that wound, now however it has stopped growing and developing. The tree is similar to his sister in that I am sure she had to overcome many wounds throughout her life, but she was able to continue living and growing. But now like the tree, his sister is no longer growing and developing.

In the last stanza Hardy writes, "My fellow-climber rises dim/ From her chilly grave-/ Just as she was, her foot near mine on the bending limb,/ Laughing, her young brown hand awave."(13-16). These last lines indicate that by remembering all the experiences he had with his sister, he is able to bring her back and honor her. He remembers her just as she was before she passed away, just as he remembers the tree before it died. I think this poem is very sad because it is clear the speaker is grieving over a loss, but I also think it is a reminder to remember the good times. Remember the happy times you shared with those you have lost, and by doing this you are honoring their life instead of reminding yourself of their death. The last line makes it clear that he ends with a good memory of his sister because she is laughing and waving just as she did when they were younger.

This poem has a very sad and somewhat depressing subject, but I think the tone at the end of the poem is hopeful and happy. This poem to me would be a good poem to read when grieving a death because it helped me realize that it is so important to honor the life of the person you are grieving and the only way to do this is by remembering all the good times you shared together.