All my life I have used my arms and hands. Never before have I thought what it would be
like to lose them. In fact, never has it occurred to me how important it is to have a functioning
body. A task that seems to be normal and every day can be excruciatingly difficult for those who
have lost parts of their body. Our bodies are a symbol of health; our bodies must maintain
optimal health. In the poem “When I am Finally Old” by Erna Hennessy, I see many ideas that
Hennessy is tackling. How we as people grow old and seek to stay young, how as we age our
body parts begin to break down and suffer damage, and the struggle of those who live without
certain body parts.
Nothing can escape time, relentlessly, time marks everything …show more content…
This line suggests to what is known today
as a “hip replacement,” when the hips, more specifically the hip-bones, are no longer able to
support the upper-body and is in need of (sometimes metal parts as well). She, Erna Hennessy,
also wrote: “My eyes have read their last good joke; in fact, they may be glass” (lines 5-6). This
quote refers to how our eyes stop to function, severe damage to the eye and one is cautious of
their appearance; one would purchase a glass eye to keep up appearances.
Hennessy’s poem, “When I Am Finally Old,” also composed: “When I grow old, my hair, of
course, will long age have fled” (lines 1-3). It seems that a common theme in Hennessy’s poem
is the replacements of body parts; specifically, when the subject is old and parts cease to
function. This concept of replacing parts reminds me of a doll; parts can be taken off and
replaced with new parts continuously. In fact, in the second to last line the poem states: “I think
I’ll become ‘Bionica’” (line 23). “Bionica” refers to “bionic” meaning to have artificial body
parts. Hennessey has used the human body and its aging process to symbolize how we start off as
human (organic) and gradually become bionic
like to lose them. In fact, never has it occurred to me how important it is to have a functioning
body. A task that seems to be normal and every day can be excruciatingly difficult for those who
have lost parts of their body. Our bodies are a symbol of health; our bodies must maintain
optimal health. In the poem “When I am Finally Old” by Erna Hennessy, I see many ideas that
Hennessy is tackling. How we as people grow old and seek to stay young, how as we age our
body parts begin to break down and suffer damage, and the struggle of those who live without
certain body parts.
Nothing can escape time, relentlessly, time marks everything …show more content…
This line suggests to what is known today
as a “hip replacement,” when the hips, more specifically the hip-bones, are no longer able to
support the upper-body and is in need of (sometimes metal parts as well). She, Erna Hennessy,
also wrote: “My eyes have read their last good joke; in fact, they may be glass” (lines 5-6). This
quote refers to how our eyes stop to function, severe damage to the eye and one is cautious of
their appearance; one would purchase a glass eye to keep up appearances.
Hennessy’s poem, “When I Am Finally Old,” also composed: “When I grow old, my hair, of
course, will long age have fled” (lines 1-3). It seems that a common theme in Hennessy’s poem
is the replacements of body parts; specifically, when the subject is old and parts cease to
function. This concept of replacing parts reminds me of a doll; parts can be taken off and
replaced with new parts continuously. In fact, in the second to last line the poem states: “I think
I’ll become ‘Bionica’” (line 23). “Bionica” refers to “bionic” meaning to have artificial body
parts. Hennessey has used the human body and its aging process to symbolize how we start off as
human (organic) and gradually become bionic