All Poems

646.1863.’Tis One by One — the Father counts —
ED offered no alternative words in this poem.

‘Tis One by One — the Father counts —
And then a Tract between
Set Cypherless — to teach the Eye
The Value of its Ten —

Until the peevish Student
Acquire the Quick of Skill —
Then Numerals are dowered back —
Adorning all the Rule —

‘Tis mostly Slate and Pencil —
And Darkness on the School
Distracts the Children’s fingers —
Still the Eternal Rule

Regards least Cypherer alike
With Leader of the Band —
And every separate Urchin’s Sum —
Is fashioned for (fitted to) his hand —

I love ED’s effortless enjambment of Lines 8-9, “Still the Eternal Rule // Regards least Cypherer alike”

The OED definition of “cyphering” is “To use the Arabic numerals in the processes of arithmetic; to work the elementary rules of arithmetic; now chiefly a term of elementary education.”

Perhaps, at a literal level, the poem is about young students learning the rules of arithmetic, but ED always has metaphorical meanings in mind. She copied F646 into Fascicle 31 “about the second half of 1863” as a brutal war darkened the land. Could ED’s message be:

“Still the Eternal Rule [Democracy] regards least Cypherer [person] alike with Leader of the Band [Leading Citizen]. ‘Tis One [vote] by One [vote] the Father [President Lincoln].”

Or, given ED’s obsession with death and resurrection, her meaning might be:

“Still the Eternal Rule [Golden Rule] regards least Cypherer [Believer] alike with Leader of the Band [Pastor]. ‘Tis One [Soul] by One [Soul] the Father [God] counts.”

Feeble metaphors, I know, but it’s hard to imagine ED wrote a poem only about “least urchin” learning to “cypher” Maybe she was trying to impress Sue, a former mathematics teacher.

There is a flower that Bees prefer —
And Butterflies — desire —
To gain the Purple Democrat
The Humming Bird — aspire —

And Whatsoever Insect pass —
A Honey bear away
Proportioned to his several dearth
And her — capacity —

Her face be rounder than the Moon
And ruddier than the Gown
Of Orchis in the Pasture —
Or Rhododendron — worn —

She doth not wait for June —
Before the World be Green —
Her sturdy little Countenance
Against the Wind — be seen —

Contending with the Grass —
Near Kinsman to Herself —
For Privilege of Sod and Sun —
Sweet Litigants for Life —

And when the Hills be full —
And newer fashions blow —
Doth not retract a single spice
For pang of jealousy —

Her Public — be the Noon —
Her Providence — the Sun —
Her Progress — by the Bee — proclaimed —
In sovereign — Swerveless Tune —

The Bravest — of the Host —
Surrendering — the last —
Nor even of Defeat — aware —
When cancelled by the Frost —

In ‘The Prowling Bee’, Susan Kornfeld and Adam DeGraff suggest Lines 3-4 of this poem are intentional one-up-womanship, a clever usurpation of Whitman’s democratic grass by ED’s purple clover:

“To gain the Purple Democrat
The Humming Bird — aspire —”

ED claimed that she avoided Whitman’s poetry because he was “disgraceful”:

“You speak of Mr Whitman-I never read his Book-but was told that he was              disgraceful-“ (L261 to Higginson, April 25, 1862).

However, this poem, F642, suggests she was stretching the truth. I’ll bet she sneaked a peek now and then at Whitman’s popular poetry.

• EDLex has eight definitions of the adjective “Purple”. 8 & 9 are “Ruling; commanding; all-powerful; omnipotent” and “Dark; deep; unfathomable in depth”.
• The noun “Democrat” has two definitions, the first is “Politician; advocate for democracy; one who is for government by the people, especially who favors the extension of rights to all classes of people.”

Whitman was an extreme advocate for democracy, who favored “the extension of rights to all classes of people.” He also considered himself a “commanding” poet. Knowing ED’s subtle penchant for iconoclasm, ‘There is a flower that Bees prefer’ may be ED’s tongue-in-cheek put-down of His Majesty.

You taught me Waiting with Myself—
Appointment strictly kept—
You taught me fortitude of Fate—
This—also—I have learnt—

An Altitude of Death, that could
No bitterer debar
Than Life—had done—before it—
Yet—there is a Science more—

The Heaven you know—to understand
That you be not ashamed
Of Me—in Christ’s bright Audience
Upon the further Hand—

Adam DeGraff, blogmeister of ‘The Prowling Bee’, wrote a stunning explication of this poem, F774. For a real treat, visit this poem at TPB: (https://bloggingdickinson.blogspot.com/2025/02/you-taught-me-waiting-with-myself.html).

Adam’s layer by layer excavation defies imitation. For example, Adam suspects “you” is Sue, and Lines 9-11 confirm this:

“. . . . to understand
That you be not ashamed
Of Me—  . . . .”

Why Sue would be ashamed of ED, at least in ED’s opinion, requires a little biographic history:

During their late teens and early 20s, ED and Sue shared an unusually close friendship, at least by 2025 standards. That it included romantic love, at least on ED’s part, is clear from her letters to Sue. Whether Sue felt romance is unclear, but many well informed modern fans of ED’s poetry think the relationship was lesbian, possibly including physical intimacy.

However, Sue was an orphan and had to find financial support. She majored in mathematics at Utica Female Academy and secured a job teaching math in Baltimore during the 1851-1852 academic year. During that time Emily experienced extreme loneliness and horrible separation anxiety, which was exacerbated by Sue’s infrequent responses to ED’s daily letters.

Sue disliked teaching and didn’t renew her contract after she returned to Amherst. Predictably, she visited the Dickinson ‘Homestead’ frequently, and, also predictably, this led to her courtship and marriage with ED’s older brother, Austin, a recent graduate of Harvard Law School. As a wedding present to the couple, Austin’s father and employer, Edward Dickinson, built a stylish two-storied mansion, ‘Evergreen’, next door to ‘Homestead.

There, Sue loved to host soirees for Amherst’s leading lights and distinguished visitors. At first Sue invited ED, but for unstated reasons soon stopped. My guess is that ED hated chit-chat and was prone to conversations as obscure as her poetry. These uninvitations became banishment, either mutual or unilateral, about the time ED composed this poem. This physical alienation continued until the 1883 death of Sue’s youngest child, 6-year-old Gilbert (Gib), who died of typhoid fever after wading with a friend in a town pond contained sewage. That banishment is what ED refers to in Lines 9-10.

Fortunately for us, during those two decades, ED and Sue communicated frequently by mailed letters or notes carried across the 100-yard meadow between the houses. Their correspondence consisted not only of poems by ED and editorial comments by Sue, but also included friend-to-friend thoughts and feelings of both women.

775.1863.Suspense—is Hostiler than Death—

Suspense—is Hostiler than Death—
Death—tho’soever Broad,
Is Just Death, and cannot increase—
Suspense—does not conclude—

But perishes—to live anew—
But just anew to die—
Annihilation—plated fresh
With Immortality—
…………………………………………………………..

The first definition of “plated” (Line 7) in the ED Lexicon is:

Impure; covered with a thin layer of precious metal on the surface which deceptively conceals an interior of baser metal; [fig.] counterfeit; hypocritical; dissembling; duplicitous; two-faced.”
……………………………………………………………

My biographical interpretation of  ‘Suspense—is Hostiler than Death—‘, F775:

Stanza 1.

Suspense—is Hostiler than Death—
Death—tho’soever Broad,
Is Just Death, and cannot increase—
Suspense—does not conclude—

S1.

Suspense is hostiler than death. Death, although defined in many ways, is just death and cannot increase. In contrast, suspense never ends, [enjambed with Stanza 2]

 

Stanza 2.

But perishes—to live anew—
But just anew to die—
Annihilation—plated fresh
With Immortality—

S2.

but rather dies, only to live again until it dies again: suspense, annihilation, suspense, annihilation, and on and on – never final.  Suspense is just repeated annihilation, plated fresh with immortality, over and over and over again.
……………………………………………………………..

This poem, ‘Suspense—is Hostiler than Death—‘, F775, is the first of ED’s four “plated” poems. In the first two, both in Fascicle 37, the word “plated” is in Line 7. In the third and fourth poems, the word “plated” is in the title line:

1. 1863.Suspense—is Hostiler than Death—, Fascicle 37, copied “late 1863”

   Line 7: “Annihilation—plated fresh”

2. 1863. It dropped so low — in my Regard —, Fascicle 37, copied “late 1863”

   Line 7: “For entertaining Plated Wares”

3. 1864.A Plated Life – diversified, Fascicle 38, copied “early 1864”

   Line 1: “A Plated Life – diversified”

4. F1879.A Counterfeit – a Plated Person –, in pencil on a bifolium of stationery

   Line 1: “A Counterfeit – a Plated Person –”

……………………………………………………………………………….

Drama’s Vitallest Expression
is the Common Day
That arise and set about Us—
Other Tragedy

Perish in the Recitation—
This—the best enact
When the Audience is scattered
And the Boxes shut—

“Hamlet” to Himself were Hamlet—
Had not Shakespeare wrote—
Though the “Romeo” left no Record
Of his Juliet,

It were infinite enacted
In the Human Heart—
Only Theatre recorded
Owner cannot shut—

 

For me, Stanzas 1-2 translate as a single enjambed eight-line stanza (octave or octastich):

“Life’s most Dependable Event
Is the Common Day.
Defined by sunrise and sunset,
Everything else vanishes,
Like actors on a stage.
The Common Day enacts its best scenes
When we aren’t watching,
Our box seats empty.”

Stanza 3:

ED may have known or not known that Shakespeare based his stage play, ‘Hamlet’, on Saxo Grammaticus’s (c. 1150 – c. 1220) ‘Gesta Danorum’, Books 3 and 4, where a legendary Scandinavian prince, Amleth, feigned madness and murdered his uncle. As with most legendary heroes, there may have been one or more real human “legend-seeds”. ED’s point is that that each actual human “legend-seed” was someone who, during their lives, knew he/she existed, even though we have no physical evidence of their existence. To quote René Descartes, “Cogito, ergo sum”, “I think, therefore I am”.

Stanza 4:

“If that legend-seed’s exact life story
Were recorded in his/her Heart,
Only a theatrical script could tell the tale.
The seed itself could not shut down its own legend.”
……………………..

Neither EDLex nor OED recognizes “vitallest” as an English word, but EDLex does define “vitalless”: “Dead; lifeless; limp; impotent; powerless; very weak; unable to provide energy; not able to recover; [fig.] ineffective; not motivating.” Nevertheless, ED’s invented comparative communicates the opposite of “lifeless” to me. She used the word “vitallest” only once in all her 1789 known poems.

……………………………….

We have an actual letter from Wadsworth to ED, expressing concern over her health, so their “relationship” was not “purported”. What is purported is the exact nature of that relationship. We have circumstantial evidence in poem after poem that “Master” was, in ED’s mind, a romantic interest, sexual or not, that lasted several years. What ED was in Wadsworth’s mind was probably a completely different story, which fits perfectly as an example of ED’s point in this poem, don’t you think?

We also have lots of circumstantial evidence that Wadsworth was “Master”, and, more importantly, in all her poems and letters or elsewhere, we have no actual evidence to prove that Wadsworth was not “Master”. That cannot be said for any other candidate.

I know, absence of actual proof is not proof of the contrary, but if it quacks like a duck ….

I think I was enchanted
When first a sombre Girl
I read that Foreign Lady
The Dark — felt beautiful

And whether it was noon at night —
Or only Heaven — at Noon —
For very Lunacy of Light
I had not power to tell —

The Bees — became as Butterflies —
The Butterflies — as Swans —
Approached — and spurned the narrow Grass —
And just the meanest Tunes

That Nature murmured to herself
To keep herself in Cheer —
I took for Giants — practising
Titanic Opera —

The Days — to Mighty Metres stept —
The Homeliest — adorned
As if unto a Jubilee
‘Twere suddenly confirmed —

I could not have defined the change —
Conversion of the Mind
Like Sanctifying in the Soul —
Is witnessed — not explained —

Twas a Divine Insanity—
The Danger to be sane
Should I again experience
‘Tis Antidote to turn —

To Tomes of Solid Witchcraft —
Magicians be asleep —
But Magic — hath an element —
Like Deity — to keep —

What a biographical, atypically long poem, complex beyond ED’s trademarks, happy as her happiest, full of mystical allusions, sweet after so much pain. ‘I think I was enchanted’ feels like a turning point. Or is it a passing manic among passing hills and valleys? ED lures us on; stay tuned for another addictive episode.

This poem, ‘I think I was enchanted’, reminded Adam DeGraff of F620 (1863):

“Much Madness is divinest Sense –
To a discerning Eye –
Much Sense – the starkest Madness –
‘Tis the Majority In this, as all, prevail –
Assent, and you are sane –
Demur – you’re straightway dangerous –
And handled with a Chain.”

 

 

777.1864.Life, and Death, and Giants—

 No alternate words.

 Life, and Death, and Giants—
Such as These—are still—
Minor—Apparatus—
Hopper of the Mill—
Beetle at the Candle—
Or a Fife’s Fame—
Maintain—by Accident
that they proclaim—

Could ED be riffing on Romans 8:38-9?:

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Gatta 2009).

By 1864 ED was well aware of Darwin’s theory of evolution (‘Origin of Species’, 1859). However, when she says “Minor—Apparatus—” are maintained by accident “that they proclaim”, she may be repeating claims by “they” (creationists?) that Darwin believed species, including humans, evolved simply by accident.

ED’s closing pronoun “they” (Line 8) may grammatically refer to “Hopper, Beetle, and Fife”, but it could easily also refer to scientists. No modern scientist would attribute the proximal causes of natural selection to “accident”; distal causes are another matter.

Perhaps some exuberant scientists of ED’s day proclaimed species exist by pure accident, but natural selection is no accident. It is true that genetic mutations are random, but survival of those mutations isn’t random, nor are today’s species simply “accidents”, as Lines 7-8 suggest.

Rather, eons of winnowing, both biotic and abiotic, extinguished far more species than exist on Earth today. It is no accident that “warm-blooded” mammals and birds replaced “cold-blooded” reptiles that dominated before a massive meteorite struck Earth 63 million years ago, creating a global climate too cold for too long for most large reptile species to persist.

Was that meteorite an accident? Yes, but species survived by no accident, rather by possessing inherited traits enabling their survival. Their ancestors had survived gauntlets that genetically prepared their offspring to inherit the devastated Earth. Of course, ED had no knowledge of scientific advances during the 150+ years since her death, just as we possess no knowledge of advances of the next 150 years. What we do know is that in 2175 AD there will still be new evolution questions to answer.

PS. ED knew her Latin well (F2, “Sic transit gloria mundi”), probably to the depth of fourth-declension-noun plurals such as “apparatus”. Google AI, for whatever it’s worth, tells me the plural of “apparatus” is spelled identically, but the third “a” is pronounced long, as in “curator”. ED did not share that obscure Latin grammar with us 2025 readers, probably assuming our modern educational apparatus would be equal to hers. Anywho, it really helps this nerdy reader enjoy ‘Life, and Death, and Giants —’ more when plural “apparatus” is pronounced with a long third ” a”.

 

Della Gatta, Carla. 2009. Performing for God and “Maintain”ing In His Absence.
Pennsylvania Liteary Journal 1(1): 52-62