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Authors: Emily Dickinson
The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (6 page)
BOOK: The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
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And then, to go to sleep;
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor,
The liberty to die.
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor,
The liberty to die.
X
A precious, mouldering pleasure ’t is
To meet an antique book,
In just the dress his century wore;
A privilege, I think,
To meet an antique book,
In just the dress his century wore;
A privilege, I think,
His venerable hand to take,
And warming in our own,
A passage back, or two, to make
To times when he was young.
And warming in our own,
A passage back, or two, to make
To times when he was young.
His quaint opinions to inspect,
His knowledge to unfold
On what concerns our mutual mind,
The literature of old;
His knowledge to unfold
On what concerns our mutual mind,
The literature of old;
What interested scholars most,
What competitions ran
When Plato was a certainty,
And Sophocles a man;
What competitions ran
When Plato was a certainty,
And Sophocles a man;
He traverses familiar,
As one should come to town
And tell you all your dreams were true:
He lived where dreams were born.
As one should come to town
And tell you all your dreams were true:
He lived where dreams were born.
His presence is enchantment,
You beg him not to go;
Old volumes shake their vellum
7
heads
And tantalize, just so.
You beg him not to go;
Old volumes shake their vellum
7
heads
And tantalize, just so.
XI
MUCH madness is divinest sense
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness.
’T is the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur,—you’re straightway dangerous,
And handled with a chain.
To a discerning eye;
Much sense the starkest madness.
’T is the majority
In this, as all, prevails.
Assent, and you are sane;
Demur,—you’re straightway dangerous,
And handled with a chain.
XII
I asked no other thing,
No other was denied.
I offered Being for it;
The mighty merchant smiled.
No other was denied.
I offered Being for it;
The mighty merchant smiled.
Brazil? He twirled a button,
Without a glance my way:
“But, madam, is there nothing else
That we can show to-day?”
Without a glance my way:
“But, madam, is there nothing else
That we can show to-day?”
XIII
THE soul selects her own society,
Then shuts the door;
On her divine majority
Obtrude no more.
Then shuts the door;
On her divine majority
Obtrude no more.
Unmoved, she notes the chariot’s pausing
At her low gate;
Unmoved, an emperor is kneeling
Upon her mat.
At her low gate;
Unmoved, an emperor is kneeling
Upon her mat.
I’ve known her from an ample nation
Choose one;
Then close the valves of her attention
Like stone.
Choose one;
Then close the valves of her attention
Like stone.
XIV
SOME things that fly there be,—
Birds, hours, the bumble-bee:
Of these no elegy.
Birds, hours, the bumble-bee:
Of these no elegy.
There are, that resting, rise.
Can I expound the skies?
How still the riddle lies!
Can I expound the skies?
How still the riddle lies!
XV
I know some lonely houses off the road
A robber’d like the look of,—
Wooden barred,
And windows hanging low,
Inviting to
A portico,
A robber’d like the look of,—
Wooden barred,
And windows hanging low,
Inviting to
A portico,
Where two could creep:
One hand the tools,
The other peep
To make sure all’s asleep.
Old-fashioned eyes,
Not easy to surprise!
One hand the tools,
The other peep
To make sure all’s asleep.
Old-fashioned eyes,
Not easy to surprise!
How orderly the kitchen’d look by night,
With just a clock,—
But they could gag the tick,
And mice won’t bark;
And so the walls don’t tell,
None will.
With just a clock,—
But they could gag the tick,
And mice won’t bark;
And so the walls don’t tell,
None will.
A pair of spectacles ajar just stir—
An almanac’s aware.
Was it the mat winked,
Or a nervous star?
The moon slides down the stair
To see who’s there.
An almanac’s aware.
Was it the mat winked,
Or a nervous star?
The moon slides down the stair
To see who’s there.
There’s plunder,—where?
Tankard,
9
or spoon,
Earring, or stone,
A watch, some ancient brooch
To match the grandmamma,
Staid sleeping there.
Tankard,
9
or spoon,
Earring, or stone,
A watch, some ancient brooch
To match the grandmamma,
Staid sleeping there.
Day rattles, too,
Stealth’s slow;
The sun has got as far
As the third sycamore.
Screams chanticleer,
†
“Who’s there?”
Stealth’s slow;
The sun has got as far
As the third sycamore.
Screams chanticleer,
†
“Who’s there?”
And echoes, trains away,
Sneer—“Where?”
While the old couple, just astir,
Think that the sunrise left the door ajar!
Sneer—“Where?”
While the old couple, just astir,
Think that the sunrise left the door ajar!
XVI
TO fight aloud is very brave,
But gallanter, I know,
Who charge within the bosom,
The cavalry of woe.
But gallanter, I know,
Who charge within the bosom,
The cavalry of woe.
Who win, and nations do not see,
Who fall, and none observe,
Whose dying eyes no country
Regards with patriot love.
Who fall, and none observe,
Whose dying eyes no country
Regards with patriot love.
We trust, in plumed procession,
For such the angels go,
Rank after rank, with even feet
And uniforms of snow.
For such the angels go,
Rank after rank, with even feet
And uniforms of snow.
XVII
WHEN night is almost done,
And sunrise grows so near
That we can touch the spaces,
It’s time to smooth the hair
And sunrise grows so near
That we can touch the spaces,
It’s time to smooth the hair
And get the dimples ready,
And wonder we could care
For that old faded midnight
That frightened but an hour.
And wonder we could care
For that old faded midnight
That frightened but an hour.
XVIII
READ, sweet, how others strove,
Till we are stouter;
What they renounced,
Till we are less afraid;
How many times they bore
The faithful witness,
Till we are helped,
As if a kingdom cared!
Till we are stouter;
What they renounced,
Till we are less afraid;
How many times they bore
The faithful witness,
Till we are helped,
As if a kingdom cared!
Read then of faith
That shone above the fagot;
10
Clear strains of hymn
The river could not drown;
Brave names of men
And celestial women,
Passed out of record
Into renown!
That shone above the fagot;
10
Clear strains of hymn
The river could not drown;
Brave names of men
And celestial women,
Passed out of record
Into renown!
XIX
PAIN has an element of blank;
It cannot recollect
When it began, or if there were
A day when it was not.
It cannot recollect
When it began, or if there were
A day when it was not.
It has no future but itself,
Its infinite realms contain
Its past, enlightened to perceive
New periods of pain.
Its infinite realms contain
Its past, enlightened to perceive
New periods of pain.
XX
I taste a liquor never brewed,
From tankards scooped in pearl;
Not all the vats upon the Rhine
Yield such an alcohol!
From tankards scooped in pearl;
Not all the vats upon the Rhine
Yield such an alcohol!
Inebriate of air am I,
And debauchee of dew,
Reeling, through endless summer days,
From inns of molten blue.
And debauchee of dew,
Reeling, through endless summer days,
From inns of molten blue.
When landlords turn the drunken bee
Out of the foxglove‘s
11
door,
When butterflies renounce their drams,
12
I shall but drink the more!
Out of the foxglove‘s
11
door,
When butterflies renounce their drams,
12
I shall but drink the more!
Till seraphs
13
swing their snowy hats,
And saints to windows run,
To see the little tippler
Leaning against the sun!
13
swing their snowy hats,
And saints to windows run,
To see the little tippler
Leaning against the sun!
XXI
HE ate and drank the precious words,
His spirit grew robust;
He knew no more that he was poor,
Nor that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book. What liberty
A loosened spirit brings!
His spirit grew robust;
He knew no more that he was poor,
Nor that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book. What liberty
A loosened spirit brings!
XXII
I had no time to hate, because
The grave would hinder me,
And life was not so ample I
Could finish enmity.
The grave would hinder me,
And life was not so ample I
Could finish enmity.
Nor had I time to love; but since
Some industry must be,
The little toil of love, I thought,
Was large enough for me.
Some industry must be,
The little toil of love, I thought,
Was large enough for me.
XXIII
’T was such a little, little boat
That toddled down the bay!
’T was such a gallant, gallant sea
That beckoned it away!
That toddled down the bay!
’T was such a gallant, gallant sea
That beckoned it away!
’T was such a greedy, greedy wave
That licked it from the coast:
Nor ever guessed the stately sails
My little craft was lost!
That licked it from the coast:
Nor ever guessed the stately sails
My little craft was lost!
XXIV
WHETHER my bark
14
went down at sea,
Whether she met with gales,
Whether to isles enchanted
She bent her docile sails;
14
went down at sea,
Whether she met with gales,
Whether to isles enchanted
She bent her docile sails;
By what mystic mooring
She is held to-day,—
This is the errand of the eye
Out upon the bay.
She is held to-day,—
This is the errand of the eye
Out upon the bay.
XXV
BELSHAZZAR
15
had a letter,—
He never had but one;
Belshazzar’s correspondent
Concluded and begun
In that immortal copy
The conscience of us all
Can read without its glasses
On revelation’s wall.
15
had a letter,—
He never had but one;
Belshazzar’s correspondent
Concluded and begun
In that immortal copy
The conscience of us all
Can read without its glasses
On revelation’s wall.
XXVI
THE brain within its groove
Runs evenly and true;
But let a splinter swerve,
’T were easier for you
To put the water back
When floods have slit the hills,
And scooped a turnpike for themselves,
And blotted out the mills!
Runs evenly and true;
But let a splinter swerve,
’T were easier for you
To put the water back
When floods have slit the hills,
And scooped a turnpike for themselves,
And blotted out the mills!
XXVII
I’M nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us—don’t tell!
They’d banish us, you know.
Are you nobody, too?
Then there’s a pair of us—don’t tell!
They’d banish us, you know.
How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!
XXVIII
I bring an unaccustomed wine
To lips long parching, next to mine,
And summon them to drink.
To lips long parching, next to mine,
And summon them to drink.
The hands still hug the tardy glass;
The lips I would have cooled, alas!
Are so superfluous cold,
The lips I would have cooled, alas!
Are so superfluous cold,
I would as soon attempt to warm
The bosoms where the frost has lain
Ages beneath the mould.
The bosoms where the frost has lain
Ages beneath the mould.
Some other thirsty there may be
To whom this would have pointed me
Had it remained to speak.
To whom this would have pointed me
Had it remained to speak.
And so I always bear the cup
If, haply, mine may be the drop
Some pilgrim thirst to slake,—
If, haply, mine may be the drop
Some pilgrim thirst to slake,—
XXIX
THE nearest dream recedes, unrealized.
The heaven we chase
Like the June bee
Before the school-boy
Invites the race;
Stoops to an easy clover—
Dips—evades—teases—deploys;
Then to the royal clouds
Lifts his light pinnace
18
Heedless of the boy
Staring, bewildered, at the mocking sky.
The heaven we chase
Like the June bee
Before the school-boy
Invites the race;
Stoops to an easy clover—
Dips—evades—teases—deploys;
Then to the royal clouds
Lifts his light pinnace
18
Heedless of the boy
Staring, bewildered, at the mocking sky.
Homesick for steadfast honey,
Ah! the bee flies not
That brews that rare variety.
Ah! the bee flies not
That brews that rare variety.
XXX
WE play at paste,
Till qualified for pearl,
Then drop the paste,
And deem ourself a fool.
Till qualified for pearl,
Then drop the paste,
And deem ourself a fool.
The shapes, though, were similar,
And our new hands
Learned gem-tactics
Practising sands.
And our new hands
Learned gem-tactics
Practising sands.
XXXI
I found the phrase to every thought
I ever had, but one;
And that defies me,—as a hand
Did try to chalk the sun
I ever had, but one;
And that defies me,—as a hand
Did try to chalk the sun
To races nurtured in the dark;—
How would your own begin?
Can blaze be done in cochineal,
Or noon in mazarin?
19
How would your own begin?
Can blaze be done in cochineal,
Or noon in mazarin?
19
XXXII
HOPE is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I’ve heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
XXXIII
DARE you see a soul at the white heat?
Then crouch within the door.
Red is the fire’s common tint;
But when the vivid ore
Then crouch within the door.
Red is the fire’s common tint;
But when the vivid ore
Has sated flame’s conditions,
Its quivering substance plays
Without a color but the light
Of unanointed blaze.
Its quivering substance plays
Without a color but the light
Of unanointed blaze.
Least village boasts its blacksmith,
Whose anvil’s even din
Stands symbol for the finer forge
That soundless tugs within,
Whose anvil’s even din
Stands symbol for the finer forge
That soundless tugs within,
Refining these impatient ores
With hammer and with blaze,
Until the designated light
Repudiate the forge.
With hammer and with blaze,
Until the designated light
Repudiate the forge.
XXXIV
WHO never lost, are unprepared
A coronet to find;
Who never thirsted, flagons
20
And cooling tamarind.
21
A coronet to find;
Who never thirsted, flagons
20
And cooling tamarind.
21
Who never climbed the weary league-
Can such a foot explore
The purple territories
On Pizarro‘s
22
shore?
Can such a foot explore
The purple territories
On Pizarro‘s
22
shore?
How many legions overcome?
The emperor will say.
How many colors taken
On Revolution Day?
The emperor will say.
How many colors taken
On Revolution Day?
How many bullets bearest?
The royal scar hast thou?
Angels, write “Promoted”
On this soldier’s brow!
The royal scar hast thou?
Angels, write “Promoted”
On this soldier’s brow!
XXXV
I can wade grief,
Whole pools of it,—
I’m used to that.
But the least push of joy
Breaks up my feet,
And I tip—drunken.
Let no pebble smile,
“T was the new liquor,—
That was all!
Whole pools of it,—
I’m used to that.
But the least push of joy
Breaks up my feet,
And I tip—drunken.
Let no pebble smile,
“T was the new liquor,—
That was all!
Power is only pain,
Stranded, through discipline,
Till weights will hang.
Give balm to giants,
And they’ll wilt, like men.
Give Himmaleh,—
23
They’ll carry him!
Stranded, through discipline,
Till weights will hang.
Give balm to giants,
And they’ll wilt, like men.
Give Himmaleh,—
23
They’ll carry him!
XXXVI
I never hear the word “escape”
Without a quicker blood,
A sudden expectation,
A flying attitude.
Without a quicker blood,
A sudden expectation,
A flying attitude.
I never hear of prisons broad
By soldiers battered down,
But I tug childish at my bars,—
Only to fail again!
By soldiers battered down,
But I tug childish at my bars,—
Only to fail again!
XXXVII
FOR each ecstatic instant
We must an anguish pay
In keen and quivering ratio
To the ecstasy.
We must an anguish pay
In keen and quivering ratio
To the ecstasy.
For each beloved hour
Sharp pittances of years,
Bitter contested farthings
24
And coffers heaped with tears.
Sharp pittances of years,
Bitter contested farthings
24
And coffers heaped with tears.
XXXVIII
THROUGH the straight pass of suffering
The martyrs even trod,
Their feet upon temptation,
Their faces upon God.
The martyrs even trod,
Their feet upon temptation,
Their faces upon God.
A stately, shriven company;
Convulsion playing round,
Harmless as streaks of meteor
Upon a planet’s bound.
Convulsion playing round,
Harmless as streaks of meteor
Upon a planet’s bound.
Their faith the everlasting troth;
25
Their expectation fair;
The needle to the north degree
Wades so, through polar air.
25
Their expectation fair;
The needle to the north degree
Wades so, through polar air.
XXXIX
I meant to have but modest needs,
Such as content, and heaven;
Within my income these could lie,
And life and I keep even.
Such as content, and heaven;
Within my income these could lie,
And life and I keep even.
But since the last included both,
It would suffice my prayer
But just for one to stipulate,
And grace would grant the pair.
It would suffice my prayer
But just for one to stipulate,
And grace would grant the pair.
And so, upon this wise I prayed,—
Great Spirit, give to me
A heaven not so large as yours,
But large enough for me.
Great Spirit, give to me
A heaven not so large as yours,
But large enough for me.
A smile suffused Jehovah‘s
26
face;
The cherubim
27
withdrew;
Grave saints stole out to look at me,
And showed their dimples, too.
26
face;
The cherubim
27
withdrew;
Grave saints stole out to look at me,
And showed their dimples, too.
I left the place with all my might,—
My prayer away I threw;
The quiet ages picked it up,
And Judgment twinkled, too,
My prayer away I threw;
The quiet ages picked it up,
And Judgment twinkled, too,
That one so honest be extant
As take the tale for true
That “Whatsoever you shall ask,
Itself be given you.”
As take the tale for true
That “Whatsoever you shall ask,
Itself be given you.”
But I, grown shrewder, scan the skies
With a suspicious air,—
As children, swindled for the first,
All swindlers be, infer.
With a suspicious air,—
As children, swindled for the first,
All swindlers be, infer.
BOOK: The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)
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