The two poems "My Number," and the poem "I heard it's a fight," both share comparisons and similarities. "My Number," written by Billy Collins and "I heard it's a fight," written by Edwin Denby share the idea of death and how the characters in each poem have a different view of death. The character in "I had heard it's a fight," takes risks and enjoys the thrill of almost dying. Other the other hand, the man in "My Number," is hiding in the shadows of death. Both poems relate to having the theme of death, meanwhile, they both contrast against each other in different ways. In the poem "I had heard it's a fight," the protagonist enjoys the feeling of being close to death. The thrill of being on edge enhances the ability to live, and the protagonist experiences that feeling very often. He does believe that you have to fight to live and in order to do so, you have to go through the rough patches in life. "I don't know. The afternoon it touched me / It sneaked up like it was a sweet thrill" (5-6). Even though he does know that death can be fought off, he doesn't …show more content…
However, they also do have their similarities. They both explain the qualities and experiences with death between two different people. The protagonist in "My Number," impatiently waits for his arrival of death; meanwhile, the man in "I heard it's a fight," plays with the thrill of death. The man in "I heard it's a fight," realizes that he shouldn't play with the idea of death and believes that he needs to beat the fight. The protagonist in "My Number," has no idea what the concept of death actually is. He hides from the fact that his life is coming to a slow and impatient end. The two protagonists in these poems both take on the idea of death in two different ways. They know that death is lurking in the shadows waiting to take them down an unknown road. The personification of death in both of these poems also create