ED-LarryB

876.1864.To be alive—is Power—

Variant A signed “Emily” and sent to Sue.

To be alive, is power –
Existence – in itself –
Without a further function –
Omnipotence – Enough –

To be alive – and Will –
‘Tis able as a God –
The Further of Ourselves, be what –
Such being Finitude?

Variant B to Fascicle 39

To be alive—is Power—
Existence—in itself—
Without a further function—
Omnipotence—Enough—

To be alive—and Will!
‘Tis able as a God—
The Maker—of Ourselves—be what—
Such being Finitude!
…………………………………………..

My interpretation of Variant B of F876, ‘To be alive—is Power—’:

Stanza 1

To be alive—is Power—
Existence—in itself—
Without a further function—
Omnipotence—Enough—

S1

To be alive is power. Existence in itself, with no further function, is omnipotence enough.

Stanza 2.

To be alive—and Will!
‘Tis able as a God—
The Maker—of Ourselves—be what—
Such being Finitude!  [Subject to limitations.]

S2.

To be alive and able to will! That’s as able as any God. We are the maker of ourselves, we can be whatever we want, limited only by physical reality.

Nietzschean, nicht war?

875.1864.The Color of a Queen, is this—

The Color of a Queen, is this—
The Color of a Sun
At setting—this and Amber—
Beryl—and this, at Noon—

And when at night—Auroran widths
Fling suddenly on men—
‘Tis this—and Witchcraft—nature keeps
A Rank—for Iodine—
………………………………………………………………………

My interpretation of ‘The Color of a Queen, is this—’, with ED’s alternate phrase in {curly brackets}:

Stanza 1.

The Color of a Queen, is this —
The Color of a Sun
At setting — this and Amber —
Beryl — and this, at Noon —

S1.

The color of a queen is the color of a sunset: this color, yellow amber, golden beryl, all bright as noon.

Stanza 2.

And when at night — Auroran widths
Fling suddenly on men —
‘Tis this — and Witchcraft — nature {has
An awe of } Iodine —

S2.

And when the northern lights fling suddenly on men, it’s this color and witchcraft. Nature has “An awe of iodine”.
…………………………………………………..

The northern lights are mostly green but often include royal purple.

………………………………………………………………………………

ED added titles to only three poems in her entire fascicles and sets. This poem, ‘The Color of a Queen’, F875, she named “Purple”, the color of iodine.
……………………………………………………..

In addition to her alternative Phrase 1 (above), ED offered three other alternatives for Lines 7-8:

Phrase 1: nature keeps/ A Rank – for
Phrase 2: nature has / respect to –
Phrase 3: nature knows / the rank of –
Phrase 4: nature has / an awe of –

I prefer ED’s alternate, Phrase 4, because “nature has / an awe of iodine” makes more sense than her original “keeps / A Rank — for”. I have used Phrase 4 in my interpretation of Stanza 2.

874.1874. If Blame be my side – forfeit Me –

If Blame be my side – forfeit Me –
But doom me not to forfeit Thee –
To forfeit Thee? The very name
Is sentence from Belief – and Home –

My biographical interpretation, with ED’s alternate word in {curly brackets}[Line 4]:

Stanza 1.

If Blame be my side – forfeit Me –
But doom me not to forfeit Thee –
To forfeit Thee? The very name
Is sentence {exile} from Belief – and Home –

S1.

If I’m to blame for your silence, forfeit me, but please allow me to continue loving you. To ask me to stop loving you would be a sentence of disbelief, an exile from all that I hold dear.
……………………………………………………………………………………………

I suspect that Charles Wadsworth had not communicated with ED since his visit to Amherst in 1860 and that ED is keeping her flame  for him alive despite his silence. He cannot escape ED; she still loved him the day she died, May 15, 1886.

873.1864.It is a lonesome Glee—

It is a lonesome Glee—
Yet sanctifies the Mind—
With fair association—
Afar upon the Wind

A Bird to overhear
Delight without a Cause—
Arrestless as invisible—
A matter of the Skies.
………………………………………………..

My biographical interpretation of F873, ‘It is a lonesome Glee’, with ED’s alternate word [Line 4] in {curly brackets}:

Stanza 1.

It is a lonesome Glee—
Yet sanctifies the Mind—
With fair association—
Afar {Remote; Astray} upon the Wind

S1.

Composing poems is a lonesome joy, but it sanctifies the mind with lovely word associations that are remote from everyday conversation.

Stanza 2.

A Bird to overhear
Delight without a Cause—
Arrestless as invisible—
A matter of the Skies.

S2.

A robin’s song, like a poem, is a delight without a cause, unstoppable and invisible, a gift of song to the world.
……………………………………………………….

To me, this poem, F873, ‘It is a lonesome Glee’, is a restatement or continuation of the previous poem, F872, ‘Deprived of other Banquet’. They share allusions: “Robin” in F872 and “bird” in F873. In her letters and other poems, ED has likened herself to a bird, sometimes a wren, sometimes a robin, sometimes another species.

872.1864.Deprived of other Banquet

Deprived of other Banquet,
I entertained Myself—
At first—a scant nutrition—
An insufficient Loaf—

But grown by slender addings
To so esteemed a size
‘Tis sumptuous enough for me—
And almost to suffice

A Robin’s famine able—
Red Pilgrim, He and I—
A Berry from our table
Reserve—for charity—
…………………………………………………………….

My biographical interpretation, :with ED’s alternate words in {curly brackets}:

Stanza 1.

Deprived of other Banquet,
I entertained Myself—
At first—a scant nutrition {plain Regaling}—
An insufficient {innutritious} Loaf—

S1.

I forwent a married life and motherhood for poetry and, at first, entertained myself, but that felt insufficient for a full life.

Stanza 2.

But grown by slender addings
To so esteemed a size
‘Tis sumptuous enough for me—
And almost to suffice

S2.

But gradually my oeuvre became esteemable, sumptuous enough for me, and almost enough to suffice for a satisfying life.

Stanza 3.

A Robin’s famine {palate; hunger}— able—
Red Pilgrim, He and I—
A Berry from our table
Reserve—for charity—

Despite my hunger for a fuller life, I feel my poems, like a robin’s song, are a gift to the world.

871.1864.The hallowing of Pain

The hallowing of Pain
Like hallowing of Heaven,
Obtains at a corporeal cost—
The Summit is not given . . . [Stanzas 1 and 2 are enjambed]

. . . To Him who strives severe
At middle of the Hill—
But He who has achieved the Top—
All—is the price of All—
……………………………………………………………………

My interpretation of F871, ‘The hallowing of Pain’, with ED’s Alternate words in {curly brackets}:

Stanza 1.

The hallowing of Pain
Like hallowing of Heaven,
Obtains at a corporeal cost –
The Summit is not given –

S1.

Just because you spend a lot of time writing poetry, even to the point of loneliness, becoming a great poet is not a given . . .

Stanza 2.

.To Him who strives severe
At middle {Bottom; centre} of the Hill –
But He who has achieved the Top {Crest}-
All – is the price of All –

S2.

. . . to Him who works hard but is a second-rate poet. To become a truly great poet requires commitment of your entire life.
………………………………………………………………………….

Reminds me of a student complaining about a grade of D on an exam: “But Dr. Barden, I studied 8 hours for this exam!”
……………………………………………………………………………….

 

870.1864. None can experience stint

None can experience stint
Who Bounty- have not known –
The fact of Famine – could not be
Except for Fact of Corn –

Want – is a meagre Art
Acquired by Reverse –
The Poverty that was not Wealth –
Cannot be Indigence
………………………………………………………………………………….

My interpretation, with ED’s alternative phrases in {curly brackets}:

Stanza 1.

None can experience stint
Who Bounty- have not known –
The fact of Famine – could not be      {Nor fact of Famine could exist -}
Except for Fact of Corn –

S1.

Stanza 1 is two couplets, each saying you can’t know poverty unless you’ve been rich. Poverty and wealth are relative to your awareness of others’ worth.

 

Stanza 2.

Want – is a meagre Art
Acquired by Reverse
The Poverty that was not Wealth –      {It is that Poverty was Wealth -}
Cannot be Indigence –                                {Enables Indigence -}

S2.

Stanza 2 also is two couplets, each saying poverty and wealth are relative to your awareness of others’ worth, but ED gives us alternatives for Lines 7-8:

S2A.

Being poor without knowing it cannot be indigence.

S2B.

Being poor after being wealthy enables indigence.

Seems to me that S2B isn’t universally true.