“Graceland”
Carl Sandburg










TOMB of a millionaire,	
    A multi-millionaire, ladies and gentlemen,	
    Place of the dead where they spend every year	
    The usury of twenty-five thousand dollars	
    For upkeep and flowers	       
    To keep fresh the memory of the dead.	
    The merchant prince gone to dust	Imagery
    Commanded in his written will	Alliteration
    Over the signed name of his last testament	
    Twenty-five thousand dollars be set aside	      
    For roses, lilacs, hydrangeas, tulips,	
    For perfume and color, sweetness of remembrance	Approx rhyme
    Around his last long home.	
                    	(Allusion to the tomb of Elvis Presley.)

 

                          Item II

 Instruction Concerning Personal Property: Enjoyment in Specie

 I anticipate that included as a part of my property and estate
at the time of my death will be tangible personal property of
various kinds, characters and values, including trophies and
other items accumulated by me during my professional career. I
hereby specifically instruct all concerned that my Executor,
herein appointed, shall have complete freedom and discretion as
to disposal of any and all such property so long as he shall act
in good faith and in the best interest of my estate and my
beneficiaries, and his discretion so exercised shall not be
subject to question by anyone whomsoever.

 I hereby expressly authorize my Executor and my Trustee,
respectively and successively, to permit any beneficiary of any
and all trusts created hereunder to enjoy in specie the use or
benefit of any household goods, chattels, or other tangible
personal property (exclusive of choses in action, cash,
stocks, bonds or other securities) which either my Executor or my
Trustees may receive in kind, and my Executor and my Trustees
shall not be liable for any consumption, damage, injury to or
loss of any tangible property so used, nor shall the
beneficiaries of any trusts hereunder or their executors of
administrators be liable for any consumption, damage, injury to
or loss of any tangible personal property so used.

                       Item III

                     Real Estate

 If I am the owner of any real estate at the time of my death, I
instruct and empower my Executor and my Trustee (as the case may
be) to hold such real estate for investment, or to sell same, or
any portion therof, as my Executor or my Trustee (as the case
may be) shall in his sole judgment determine to be for the best
interest of my estate and the beneficiaries thereof.

The National Enquirer achieved yet more notoriety when it published this post-mortem photo of Elvis Presley on September 6, 1977. The King, of course, died on the throne in his bathroom.

Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, on January 8, 1935. In his youth he taught himself to play the guitar and sang at church services.There he was first recognized as a talent. His style, a fusion of country- and western music and influences of black rhythm- and blues with the new rock-and-roll music, led to his discovery in Memphis, Tennessee. A recording and film carreer followed. Presley became an idol of US adolescent culture and nearly all people knew some of his hit songs, for example "Love me tender", "All shook up" and "Don't be cruel". On August 16, 1977 he died in Memphis, because of abuse of drugs and alcohol.
 
Nicole Tucci
Lit 2
March 17,2002
“Graceland” Questions


1.	Find the imagery
2.	Can you find any alliteration in this poem?
3.	Who is this poem about?
4.	What is he known for?
5.	How is this person portrayed as?
6.	What has happened to this person?
7.	What kind of tone do you find in this poem?
8.	Find the approximate rhyme.
9.	 What is the allusion referring to in the poem?
10.	 What is your personal opinion?


 
Graceland Answers
1.	Merchant prince gone to dust gives an image of something that has passed on.
2.	Written will 
3.	Elvis Presley
4.	King of Rock n Roll and various movie roles etc.
5.	Very rich, well respected and admired
6.	He died on August 16, 1977 he died in Memphis, because of abuse of drugs and alcohol.  He is now being remembered with flowers and other up keeping of his mansion, Graceland.
7.	A tone of respect, remembrance
8.	Sweetness, remembrance
9.	Elvis Presley memorial-Graceland
10.	 Various answers.  

Pictures of Elvis