In “The Cossacks,” Pastan uses Cossacks as an effective metaphor for death. What would you choose as a metaphor for death? Think of something that is specific to your experience, background, or feelings so that the metaphor will be uniquely yours. Write a poem developing your metaphor.

In “The Cossacks,” the speaker refers to denial and acceptance, two of the five stages of grief. One of Pastan's previous collections, The Five Stages of Grief (1978), is arranged to parallel the five stages of grief described by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in On Death and Dying. Research On Death and Dying or Kübler-Ross's On Grief and Grieving to better understand the five stages a person goes through when faced with death. Take into account not just the person who is dying but also the loved ones who are preparing for their own...