Is
it true, dear Sue?
Are
there two?
I
shouldn't like to come
For
fear of joggling Him!
If
I could shut him up
In
a Coffee Cup,
Or
tie him to a pin
Till
I got in –
Or
make him fast
To
"Toby's" fist –
Hist!
Whist! I'd come!
-
F189 (1861)
218
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Victorian Mum |
When Dickinson’s dear friend Sue and
her husband Austin, Dickinson’s brother, had their first child (Ned, in 1861),
she sent them this poem. I’m not sure why she asks if there are “two” – two
what? Maybe it’s a playful way of asking if there weren’t really twins. And of
course, “two” rhymes neatly with “Sue.” It was probably a private joke.
She’s
concerned here about “joggling” the new baby and so wonders if she couldn’t
just tie him down or put him in a safe container. She’s being quite witty here
with shutting the baby up in a “Coffee Cup” or tying him to a pin. The best
part, though, is suggesting that Sue might “make him fast” to the cat, Toby.
All
of the diction and rhymes are lighthearted and fun. “tie him to a pin / till I
got in –” is pretty cute, as is “shut him up / In a Coffee Cup.” But I like
best the slant rhyme of “fast” with “fist – Hist! Whist!” The movement is fast,
and we imagine Emily darting over anyway, despite her fears of dandling a
newborn.
When Dickinson says "there are two"? she could just mean the mother and the baby - there used to be one person, and now there are two.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Not sure why I was so unclear about it when I wrote this!
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