ED-LarryB

849.1864.By my Window have I for Scenery
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F849A, Lines 15-16, early 1864, to Ebon Box

“The Definition of Melody — is —
That Definition is none —”

F797A, Lines 1-2, early 1864, to Sue

“The Definition of Beauty is
That Definition is none—”

When ED uses the word “Beauty” in F797, she’s referring to Keats’ ‘Ode on a ‘Grecian Urn’:

“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.”

 

In F849, when ED writes “Melody” she means mystic melodies “of no tone”, again referring to Keats’ ‘Ode’:

“Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard
Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;
Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,
Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone”
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Here’s Franklin’s (1998) Variant A of F849, which I label F849A, with line numbers added [in brackets]. The “A” is Franklin’s customary appellation for the first known variant. There are no other known manuscripts of this poem. I refer to this version as Version 1:

By my Window have I for Scenery
Just a Sea — with a Stem —
If the Bird and the Farmer — deem it a “Pine” —
The Opinion will serve — for them —

It has no Port, nor a “Line” — but the Jays —     [L5]
That split their route to the Sky —
Or a Squirrel, whose giddy Peninsula
May be easier reached — this way —

For Inlands — the Earth is the under side —
And the upper side — is the Sun —             [L10]
And its Commerce — if Commerce it have —
Of Spice — I infer from the Odors borne —

Of its Voice — to affirm — when the Wind is within —
Can the Dumb — define the Divine?
The Definition of Melody — is —         [L15]
That Definition is none —

It — suggests to our Faith —
They* — suggest to our Sight —
When the latter — is put away
I shall meet with Conviction I somewhere met      [L20]
That Immortality —

Was the Pine at my Window a “Fellow
Of the Royal” Infinity?
Apprehensions — are God’s introductions —
To be hallowed — accordingly —            [L25]

 

*I think the antecedent of “They” in Line 18 is “the Dumb” in Line 14. The only way the Dumb could communicate by “Sight” is through sign language. In 1817, Laurent Clerc and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet founded the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut (Wikipedia, downloaded 7/7/2026), and sign language was in wide use by 1864 when ED composed this poem.
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In her manuscript of F849A, ED suggested five alternate words and phrases, which I indicate with {curly brackets}. Here are my preferences and reasons for them, listed by Line Number:

3. original: “If” because “Grant” doesn’t make sense to me,
4. alternate: “do” because it’s stronger than “serve”,
5. original: “That split their route to the Sky” because it focuses on the Sea Pine, while “Ply between it, and the Sky” does not,
6. original: “easier reached” because it’s direct, while “better attained” or “easier gained” are not,
7. original: “define” because it’s stronger and rhymes with “Divine”.

I’ve included these originals/alternates in my Version 2. I’ve also my explanations of confusing pronouns in [regular brackets]. Finally, below each stanza is my prose interpretation of that stanza, labelled S1, S2, etc., and including ED’s capitalizations:

F849A, Version 2, ‘By my Window have I for Scenery’:

Stanza 1

By my Window have I for Scenery
Just a Sea — with a Stem —
If {Grant} the Bird and the Farmer — deem it a “Pine” —.
The Opinion will serve {do}— for them —

S1 interpretation

Outside my second-floor west-facing bedroom window at Homestead stands an eastern white Pine whose limbs sway in the Wind like the billowing waves of a “Sea”. If a Bird or a Farmer wants to call it a pine, that’s fine for them, but not for me.

 

Stanza 2

It [the sea with a stem] has no Port, nor a “Line” [to tie to a dock] — but the Jays —
That split their route to the Sky {Ply between it, and the Sky}—
Or a Squirrel, whose giddy Peninsula [branch in another tree]
May be easier reached {better attained, easier gained} — this way —

S2 interpretation

My Sea Pine has no port, nor a “Line” [rope] to tie a ship to a dock, but Jays must fly around it on their route to the Sky, and a Squirrel, on its way to its nest on a limb of another tree, uses one of Sea Pine’s swaying Peninsulas [branches] as a shortcut home.

Stanza 3

For Inlands — the Earth is the under side —
And the upper side — is the Sun —
And its Commerce — if Commerce it have —
Of Spice — I infer from the Odors borne —

S2 interpretation

In my west-side yard the Sea Pine roots in the Earth, and above it shines the Sun. It sheds a haunting Odor that wafts on the Wind. The fragrance, distilled, is perfume of Commerce, if Commerce it have, of merchantmen filled with aromatic cargo.

Stanza 3

Of its Voice — to affirm — when the Wind is within —
Can the Dumb — define {divulge} the Divine?
The Definition of Melody — is —
That Definition is none —

S3 interpretation, including ED’s capitalizations

When Wind blows through its branches, it affirms the mystic Melody, the singing of the spheres. Can the Dumb define Divine? Sea Pine’s Definition of Melody is – that Definition is none.

It — suggests to our Faith —

They — suggest to our Sight —

When the latter — is put away

I shall meet with Conviction I somewhere met

That Immortality —

 

• Sea Pine suggests to my Faith, the Dumbs’ sign language suggests to my Sight, that when I and my hearing die, I believe with Conviction I will again hear the Music of the Spheres, which is Immortality. Several times in my younger days I heard the Music, often while watching a sunset out my west window. I haven’t the skill to describe how it sounded, but it permanently convinced me that life is worth living, which saved my life during the months after Wadsworth moved to the west coast.

Was the Pine at my Window a “Fellow

Of the Royal” Infinity?

Apprehensions — are God’s introductions —

To be hallowed — accordingly —

 

6. Is Sea Pine at my Window an angel, a “Fellow of the Royal” Infinity? Uncertainties are God’s introductions and to be hallowed accordingly.

847.1864. Her final Summer was it—

ED enjambs Line 4-5, and offers an alternate Line 2 and two alternate words for Lines 5 and 7, in {curly brackets}. I prefer all three alternates over her originals and have used them below:

Her final Summer was it—
{Yet we suspected not}
If tenderer industriousness
Pervaded Her, {We thought

A further} {Fund} of life
Developed from within—
When Death lit all the {brevity}
It made the hurry plain—

We wondered at our blindness
When nothing was to see
But Her Carrara Guide post—
At Our Stupidity—

When duller than our dullness
The Busy Darling lay
So busy was she—finishing—
So leisurely—were We—

My interpretation of F847, ‘Her final Summer was it’:

1. During summer, she knew she was dying but didn’t tell us. She seemed more industrious than usual putting her affairs in order. We thought

2. she had found a fund of life deep inside her, so we were surprised when she visibly began to die. That explained why she had been hurrying.

3. We wondered at our blindness, but she showed us nothing that would make us suspect her death was near. Her face was calm as marble. We can’t believe we were so blind to the truth.

4. Even when she began to fade we could not believe the end was near. We took our time when she asked for help and now regret our leisureness. On her deathbed she finished her final legal documents and gave instructions for her funeral.
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ED choreographed her own funeral carefully:

“The honorary pallbearers, among them the president and professors of Amherst College, set the casket down after exiting the Homestead’s back door, and their burden was shouldered, at the poet’s own request, by six Irish workmen who had been hired men on the Dickinson grounds.

“Following her late directions, they circled her flower garden, walked through the great barn that stood behind the house, and took a grassy path across house lots and fields of buttercups to West Cemetery [500 yards from Homestead], followed by the friends who had attended the simple service. There Emily Dickinson was interred in a grave Sue had lined with evergreen boughs, within the family plot enclosed by an iron fence.”

( https://www.emilydickinsonmuseum.org/emily-dickinson/biography/special-topics/emily-dickinson-and-death/ )

846.1864.A Drop fell on the Apple Tree—

 A Drop fell on the Apple Tree—
Another—on the Roof—
A Half a Dozen kissed the Eaves—
And made the Gables laugh—

A few went out to help the Brook
That went to help the Sea—
Myself Conjectured were they Pearls—
What Necklaces could be—

The Dust replaced, in Hoisted Roads—
The Birds jocoser sung—
The Sunshine threw his Hat away—
The Bushes— spangles flung—

The Breezes brought dejected Lutes—
And bathed them in the Glee—
The Orient showed a single Flag,
And signed the fête away— …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

This unusually understandable poem doesn’t need an interpretation, but for enlightening comments on it see Adam W. DeGraff’s explication on The Prowling Bee,

https://bloggingdickinson.blogspot.com/2025/10/a-drop-fell-on-apple-tree.html
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Line 9: “The Dust replaced, in Hoisted Roads—”:

Road builders had to add fill to raise roads in wet areas, especially in 1858 when most roads were dirt. During dry spells raised dirt roads are drier and therefore dustier than unraised roads. During wet spells, frequently used dirt roads become quagmires.

Now we take macadam or asphalt roads for granted.”
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Lines 13-14:

The Breezes brought dejected Lutes—
And bathed them in the Glee—

During a hot dry spell in a southern summer, a breeze feels like a hot hair dryer. Speaking from experience of a childhood in Arkansas, a summer downpour after weeks of drought feels like a gift from God and the air smells heavenly, which we attributed to lightning-created ozone. Now I know ozone is odorless, so go figur.
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Lines 15-16

The Orient showed a single Flag,
And signed the fête away—

For me, “Orient” and sunrise trump sundown. When “The Sunshine threw his Hat away—” in L11, “he” raised his hat to remove its shadow and day began.

Speaking from years of rising at 4 AM to deliver newspapers or, in ED’s case, to fix breakfast for her early rising father, that schedule creates habits that continue through life.

ED wanted to spend her morning hours writing poetry and, with a poem (F35, 1858), asked her father to hire house help:

Sleep is supposed to be
By souls of sanity
The shutting of the eye.

Sleep is the station grand
Down wh’, on either hand
The hosts of witness stand!

Morn is supposed to be
By people of degree
The breaking of the Day.

Morning has not occurred!

That shall Aurora be—
East of Eternity— One with the banner gay—
One in the red array—
That is the break of Day!

ED thanked her father for granting her wish (over strong objections from his wife) by dedicating this poem to him:

“To my Father — to whose untiring efforts in my behalf, I am indebted for my morning hours. — viz — 3.AM to 12. PM. These grateful lines are inscribed by his aff. Daughter.” (JL198, 1858)

The hours of this summer party were 3AM to 6 AM, which ED would be used to now that she has time to experience dawn outdoors. At that time, birds are “jocuser”.
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845.1864.We can but follow to the Sun—

We can but follow to the Sun—
As oft as He go down
He leave Ourselves a Sphere behind—
‘Tis mostly—following—

We go no further with the Dust
Than to the Earthen Door—
And then the Panels are reversed—
And we behold—no more.

My prose interpretation of ‘We can but follow to the Sun —’ (F845, 1864):

1. All our lives we only follow the Sun. As often as He sets, we sleep, Earth turns, Sun rises, and we wake.

2. “Dust to dust” circumscribes our lives, and then our curtain falls. Earth swallows us, night reigns, and we behold no more.
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Excerpt from an ED letter to Higginson (JL503, June 1877):

“When a few years old – I was taken to a Funeral which I now know was of peculiar distress, and the Clergyman asked “Is the Arm of the Lord shortened that it cannot save?

He italicized the ‘cannot.’ I mistook the accent for a doubt of Immortality and not daring to ask, it besets me still.”
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In 1882, ED revisited F845’s gist with ‘Those – dying then’ (F1581):

Those – dying then,
Knew where they went –
They went to God’s Right Hand –
That Hand is amputated now
And God cannot be found –

The abdication of Belief
Makes the Behavior small –
Better an ignis fatuus
Than no illume at all –
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ignis fatuus (noun)

Merriam-Webster Definition:

1. a light that sometimes appears in the night over marshy ground and is often attributable to the combustion of gas from decomposed organic matter
2. a deceptive goal or hope

   “Ignis fatuus” is a Latin term meaning, literally, “foolish fire.”

   Other names for this light are “jack-o’-lantern” and “will-o’-the-wisp” — both of which are connected to folklore about mysterious men, Jack and Will, who carry a lantern or a wisp of light at night.

   Etymology:

   Medieval Latin, literally, foolish fire
   First known use was in 1563, in Sense 1 (above).

   Synonyms: pipe dream, mirage, chimera, delusion, daydream, illusion

(https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ignis%20fatuus)

843.1864. It bloomed and dropt, a Single Noon—

It bloomed and dropt, a Single Noon—
The Flower—distinct and Red—
I, passing, thought another Noon
Another in its stead

Will equal glow, and thought no More
But came another Day
To find the Species disappeared—
The Same Locality—

The Sun in place—no other fraud
On Nature’s perfect Sum—
Had I but lingered Yesterday—
Was my retrieveless blame—

Much Flowers of this and further Zones
Have perished in my Hands
For seeking its Resemblance—
But unapproached it stands—

The single Flower of the Earth
That I, in passing by
Unconscious was—Great Nature’s Face
Passed infinite by Me—

“Much Flowers of this and further Zones
Have perished in my Hands
For seeking its Resemblance—
But unapproached it stands—”
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My biographical interpretation of ‘It bloomed and dropt, a Single Noon —’, with ED’s enjamb of Lines 4-5 noted {curly brackets:

1.
It bloomed and dropt, a Single Noon —
The Flower — distinct and Red —
I, passing, thought another Noon
Another in its stead {enjambed with L5}

My day-lily bloomed early this morning and lasted til noon, but its half-day reminded me of a half-day four years ago when Reverend Charles Wadsworth rang at noon at my front door. Unlike my day-lily, whose life began early and ended at noon, Wadsworth’s visit began at noon and ended after dark.

2.
Will equal glow. and thought no More
But came another Day
To find the Species disappeared —
The Same Locality —

I thought he would come again, and then I thought no more. But I was wrong, he never returned.

3.
The Sun in place — no other fraud
On Nature’s perfect Sum—
Had I but lingered Yesterday —
Was my retrieveless blame —

Summer sunlight warmed the Earth; no cloud dimmed the sky. Looking back, I realize that half-day was the apogee of my life. If I had only stopped the clock, I might have lived that time again. But I could not, and that was my own fault.

4.
Much Flowers of this and further Zones
Have perished in my Hands
For seeking its Resemblance —
But unapproached it stands —

I’ve tried desperately to find another soul like Wadsworth’s, but each one I find falls short, and I, one by one, lay them in my ebony box and close the lid.

5.
The single Flower of the Earth
That I, in passing by
Unconscious was — Great Nature’s Face
Passed infinite by Me —

The one thing on Earth I want, I had that day, but never since. I was not aware then that I had found, and lost, the love of my life.
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ED’s alternate words and phrases [Lines L10, L15, L19, L20] are in {curly brackets}:

It bloomed and dropt, a Single Noon —
The Flower — distinct and Red —
I, passing, thought another Noon
Another in its stead

Will equal glow, and thought no More
But came another Day
To find the Species disappeared —
The Same Locality —

The Sun in place — no other fraud
On Nature’s perfect {general} Sum —
Had I but lingered Yesterday —
Was my retrieveless blame —

Much Flowers of this and further Zones
Have perished in my Hands
For seeking its {similitude} —
But unapproached it stands —

The single Flower of the Earth
That I, in passing by
Unconscious was — Great Nature’s Face
Passed infinite by Me —

{L19: Was ignorant that Nature closed}
{L20A: My Opportunity; Line 20B: Went infinite by Me —}

 

1. In Line 10 I prefer ED’s original word, “perfect” because it begins with a powerful “p”; “general” sounds wishy-washy.
   .
2. In Line 15 I prefer her alternate word , “similitude” because it alliterates with “seeking”. I prefer her alternate Line 15 because it has eight syllables, which matches Line 13. ED’s original Line 15 has only 7 monosyllables.
   .
3. I prefer her original Line 19 because it has eight syllables; her alternate Line 19 has a ridiculous 14 syllables.
   .
4. I prefer her original L20 because her alternate Line 20A, “My Opportunity”, makes no sense and because her original first word, “Past”, packs more power than wimpy “Went”
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In summer 1880, Wadsworth did return to Homestead, and, as evidence of ED’s enduring love for him, here is an 1879 “Calvary” poem (F1485) that affirms her concern for him in a sweet quatrain.

“Spurn the temerity —
Rashness of Calvary —
Gay were Gethsemane
Knew we of Thee —”

“Calvary” and “Gethsemane” are ED’s code names for Wadsworth and herself. She had to be careful in her poems to protect Wadsworth’s reputation and her own privacy. ‘Spurn the temerity —’ (F1485, 1879) is the 12th and last of her “Calvary” poems.

It would not surprise me if ED mailed F1485 to Wadsworth in 1879, though we have no hard evidence that happened because both she and he burned all their mutual letters. The following summer, 1880, he showed up unannounced at her front door:

“Where did you come from,” I said, for he spoke like an Apparition. “I stepped from my Pulpit to the Train” was [his] simple reply, and when I asked “how long,” “Twenty Years” said he with inscrutable roguery – but the loved Voice has ceased.”

Letter JL1040 to Charles Clark, April 15, 1886, exactly one month before she died.

 

The ED-Wadsworth “love affair” was likely a marriage of two disparate minds who agreed to disagree, both deeply spiritual, one an eloquent conservative Christian minister, the other a world-class agnostic poet. They died close friends, in 1882 and 1886 respectively.

Wadsworth, who was 66 in 1880, apparently made the 500-mile roundtrip from his home in Philadelphia to visit his close friends, James and Charles Clark in Northampton, MA.

ED’s letter (JL1040) tells us Wadsworth gave a sermon at the Clarks’ church and then took the 12-mile train trip to Amherst that afternoon to visit her. His answer to her question, “Twenty Years” was a reference to his previous visit with her in Amherst in summer 1860. ED’s phrase, “inscrutable roguery”, tells me how much ED loved Wadsworth — he was the love of her life.
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ED’S lifelong theme of friends lost to death or moving away runs strong in her letters and poems. At age 14, much too young, she experienced the death of a close friend. She was in an adjoining room when the girl died and she begged the girl’s mother to let her say goodbye one last time.  Unwisely, the mother relented. ED suffered severe fear-of-abandonment anxiety for the rest of her life.
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ED’s “Ebon Box”:

ED used closing the lid of her “Ebon Box” as a metaphor for losing friends, either to death or, more commonly, to alienation. At the end of her life she had no close long-term friends, probably because she had demanded too much of them. (Sewall, R. B, 1974. The Life of Emily Dickinson)

“Historical records indicate that Emily Dickinson’s famous ebony box was gifted to her by George Henry Gould, a close friend and confidant she met while they were both young adults in Amherst.” (Google AI Overview, downloaded 6/15/2026)

This black scarred box is the one Harvard eventually acquired in 1950. From the photo, its dimensions appear to be about 12”x12”x18”:

https://iraf.substack.com/p/dickinson-stops-the-clocks#:~:text=Dickinson%20Stops%20the,it%20was%20%E2%80%9Calive.%E2%80%9D

“It became a personal repository where she quietly stored her private correspondence and hand-sewn packets of poems. After Dickinson died in 1886, her sister Lavinia inherited the chest and discovered the massive cache of nearly 1,800 poems inside, eventually leading to their publication.” (Google AI Overview, downloaded 6/15/2026)

For a fuller explanation of its circuitous journey before it was given to Harvard, see: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DLaMDv_tx3-/

JL189. To John Long Graves, August 1856

“Ah John – Gone? Then I lift the lid to my box of Phantoms, and lay another in, unto the Resurrection – Then will I gather in Paradise, the blossoms fallen here, and on the shores of the sea of Light, seek my missing sands.

Your Coz – Emilie –”

Miller, Cristanne. and Domhnall Mitchell (eds). The Letters of Emily Dickinson (p. 267). Harvard University Press. Kindle Edition

“Emily Dickinson was not referring to the physical death of John Long Graves. Instead, the “event” was his permanent departure from Amherst when he moved away to become the principal of Orford Academy in New Hampshire. This physical separation prompted Dickinson to express deep melancholy, likening her absent friends to memories or “phantoms” in her emotional memory box” (Google AI, downloaded 6/4/2026)

The top of the box reads “EMILY E. AND LAVINIA N. DICKINSON”
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Biographical note:

In summer 1880, Wadsworth did return to Homestead, and, as evidence of ED’s enduring love for him, here is an 1879 “Calvary” poem (F1485) that affirms her concern for him in a sweet quatrain.

“Spurn the temerity —
Rashness of Calvary —
Gay were Gethsemane
Knew we of Thee —”

“Calvary” and “Gethsemane” are ED’s code names for Wadsworth and herself.  She had to be careful in her poems to protect Wadsworth’s reputation and her own privacy. ‘Spurn the temerity —’ (F1485, 1879) is the 12th and last of her “Calvary” poems.

It would not surprise me if ED mailed F1485 to Wadsworth in 1879, though we have no hard evidence that happened because both she and he burned all their mutual letters. The following summer, 1880, he showed up unannounced at her front door:

“Where did you come from,” I said, for he spoke like an Apparition. “I stepped from my Pulpit to the Train” was [his] simple reply, and when I asked “how long,” “Twenty Years” said he with inscrutable roguery – but the loved Voice has ceased.”

Letter 1040 to Charles Clark, April 15, 1886, exactly one month before she died.

The ED-Wadsworth “love affair” was likely a marriage of two disparate minds who agreed to disagree, both deeply spiritual, one an eloquent conservative Christian minister, the other a world-class agnostic poet. They died close friends, in 1882 and 1886 respectively.

Wadsworth, who was 66 in 1880, apparently made the 500-mile roundtrip from his home in Philadelphia to visit his close friends, James and Charles Clark in Northampton, MA.

ED’s letter (JL1040) tells us Wadsworth gave a sermon at the Clarks’ church and then took the 12-mile train trip to Amherst that afternoon to visit her. His answer to her question, “Twenty Years” was a reference to his previous visit with her in Amherst in summer 1860. ED’s phrase, “inscrutable roguery”, tells me how much ED loved Wadsworth — he was the love of her life.

 

Bottom of Form

842.1864.Patience—has a quiet Outer—

ED gave two alternate words in Line 7 and two alternate Lines 7-8 {in curly brackets}. I prefer her originals.

Patience—has a quiet Outer—
Patience—Look within—
Is an Insect’s futile forces
Infinites—between—

‘Scaping one—against the other
Fruitlesser to fling—
Patience—is the Smile’s {Mouth’s; Love’s} exertion
Through the quivering—

Lines 7-8:

Patience — is the {Mean of forces —
[S]tand by Her Wing}

My biographical interpretation of ‘Patience—has a quiet Outer—’ (F842):

1. My family sees my outward quiet appearance, but that is superficial. If they could look within, they would see a futile struggle between infinite forces.
   .
2. If I escape the pain of living life, the pain of separation from Him descends, ripping open my healing wound. He told me we would meet and marry in Heaven, so I force a smile, though my lips are quivering.

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Now that I’ve been dead for 140 years {May 15, 1886}, I’d like to explain this poem for my 2026 readers {F842}:

In my Master Letter 1 {JL187, draft, spring 1858}, I invited Reverend Wadsworth to visit me in Amherst:

“Listen again, Master. I did not tell you that today had been the Sabbath Day.

“Each Sabbath on the Sea, makes me count the Sabbaths, till we meet on shore ­­─ and {will the} whether the hills will look as blue as the sailors say. I cannot talk any more {stay any longer} tonight {now}, for this pain denies me.

“How strong when weak to recollect, and easy, quite, to love. Will you tell me, please to tell me, soon as you are well.”

I knew that he was nationally known for his powerful, pew-filling sermons and really did not expect him to come. He knew from our previous letters that I had heard Him deliver a sermon in March 1855, and probably guessed correctly that His deep bass voice and astonishing oratorical skills stole my heart.

Wadsworth was the love of my life. I think He knew how I felt because my feelings were obvious in my letters. My poems honor Him by capitalizing all His pronouns, just as I do God’s. In fact, I thought of Wadsworth as God’s doppelgänger on Earth. Context separates Them.

“Fruitlesser” {Line 6} is my original word and I think it’s a humdinger comparative adjective, don’t you?