(7) Snow Line
You'd better pack an extra pair of socks for this hike, Shmoopers. To truly understand this poem, it helps to have a background in history, religion, mythology, and even geology. (Props to you if you didn't have to Google "lapis lazuli.") Once you catch all the references, though, the scene taking place in this poem is pretty straightforward. You might even put it in terms of a newspaper headline: "Man on deathbed orders monument to self, sons not sold."