Out of sight? What of that?

Out of sight? What of that?
See the Bird—reach it!
Curve by Curve—Sweep by Sweep—
Round the Steep Air—
Danger! What is that to Her?
Better 'tis to fail—there—
Than debate—here—

Blue is Blue—the World through—
Amber—Amber—Dew—Dew—
Seek—Friend—and see—
Heaven is shy of Earth—that's all—
Bashful Heaven—thy Lovers small—
Hide—too—from thee—

  -F733, J703, Fascicle 35, 1863


Here is a poem to inspire, a masterpiece of rhythmic force and feel. You can feel it soar in its very sound.

Dickinson most often wrote in common meter, also called Hymn meter. But within the constraint of this structure, she invents constantly, molding the rhythms of the language to underscore the meaning of the poems. It is a joy to watch her do this, poem after poem. This one is a good example. It is, essentially, in common hymn meter, but look what she does with it.

First there is that rat-a-tat of the first line, “Out of sight? What of that?” A fancy word for this kind of three syllable loud/soft/loud metric unit is a cretic foot. This rhythmic move continues in the second line with “See the Bird.” These three cretic feet in a row sets up an emphatic spondee (two accented syllables) with the phrase “Reach It!” The effect is that you really feel the oomph behind the directive to reach. Rat-a-tat Rat-a-tat Rat-a-tat BUM BUM. 

The dash in the second line is odd because it breaks up the sentence. The sentence goes, “See the bird reach it!” But that dash not only adds to the rhythmic emphasis, it also subtly adds the idea that what you are reaching is not just sky, it’s the bird: “See the bird - Reach it!”

The cretic feet continue in the following line, “Curve by Curve - Sweep by Sweep.” From there on this poem plays with this rhythm and repetition to underscore emphasis and meaning. The Greek terminology of poetic meter is just a way to describe what it is that Dickinson is doing musically in the poem, how it is she is achieving her effects. It’s fun. You could say we are tracing the poem itself, curve by curve and sweep by sweep.

The cretic rhythm set up in the first three lines is abruptly interrupted in the fourth line. It starts with a cretic foot, “Round the steep,” but then leaves the line hanging after “air," which is appropriate because the line is left hanging in mid air. Rhythmically, following Common Meter, “Danger!” should be at the end of the fourth line: “Round the steep air - Danger!” But Dickinson achieves a subtle effect by leaving that fourth line suspended and then surprising us with "Danger!" at the start of the fifth line. It's a tiny little jump-scare.

Dickinson poems are marvels of composition. I also like the way Dickinson echoes “air” in the rhyme of the next three lines too.

Danger! What is that to Her?
Better 'tis to fail—there—
Than debate—here—

The idea that it’s better to fail in the attempt, than sit around and debate it, makes danger a mute point. It is perhaps MORE dangerous not to try, because you will regret it. If you go for it, at least you can say you tried.

This poem begins to philosophically deepen in the second stanza.

Blue is Blue—the World through—
Amber—Amber—Dew—Dew—

This is so much fun to say, you almost miss what is being said. Wait, what is being said? On one hand it seems as if the same blue, amber and dew that is in Heaven is also here on earth. It is the same blue in the sky as in the water. So that begs the question, why reach at all, if it’s all right here? I suppose the reason to reach is for the joy of flying.

If there is a common theme in Fascicle 35 so far, it might be that of “Reaching." These poems seem to both encourage it, and also keep you grounded in reality, at once. 

Seek—Friend—and see—
Heaven is shy of Earth—that's all—
Bashful Heaven—thy Lovers small—
Hide—too—from thee—

Why would Heaven be shy of earth? And, an equally difficult question, if we love Heaven, why would we hide from it?

Perhaps there is a clue in the previous poem in fascicle 35, in which Lot exhibits faith by sheltering strangers. God doesn't trust men (is shy of them) and so he sends his angels looking for good ones. And men don’t trust strangers either. It is only faith that leads Lot to shelter these strangers, who, being angels, save him from destruction in return. 

This is a poem to revel in. It is so confident and knowing in its tone, that it feels as if it were a divine leak. But what to make of it? "Blue is Blue—the World through—/ Amber—Amber—Dew—Dew—" It's a good mantra to remember. It's unforgettable after you say it out loud a few times. It's all here, the poem says, but since it is the same there, why not fly?

    -/)dam Wade l)eGraff

The bar-tailed godwit flies 8,500 miles, from Alaska to Tasmania, non-stop.