758.1863.A little Road  –  not made of Man –

758.1863.A little Road  –  not made of Man –
(ED’s Alternate words in parentheses) [LarryB’s comments in brackets]

“A little Road  –  not made of Man  –
Enabled of the Eye  –
Accessible to Thill [Buggy] of Bee  –
Or Cart of Butterfly –

“If Town it have  –  beyond (besides) itself  –
‘Tis that  –  I cannot say –
I only know (sigh)  –  no Curricle [Carriage] that rumble[s] there
Bear (Hold) me – ”

 

Talk about “infinite variety”, this little eight-line jewel, carved by the Cleopatra of Words, sets a lovely scene [Stanza 1], a preview of Dorothy’s Yellow Brick Road to the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Here, in F758, a mere 51 words carry us from ED’s garden to Heaven’s Gate, if Heaven exists [Stanza 2]:

“If Town it have  –  beyond (besides) itself  –
‘Tis that  –  I cannot say –
I only know  –  no [Carriage] that rumble[s] there
Bear[s] (Hold) me  – ”

For a poet who wanted to believe that she and Charles Wadsworth, the male love-of-her-life, had agreed to meet and marry in Heaven, Stanza 2 sounds awfully iffy.

Maybe she’s fishing for Wadsworth’s reassurance. Or, maybe she’s realizing that their agreement was a fairy tale.

PS [OED]:

Thill: The pole or shaft by which a wagon, cart, or other vehicle is attached to the animal drawing it, esp. one of the pair of shafts between which a single draught animal is placed.

Curricle: A light two-wheeled carriage, usually drawn by two horses abreast.

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