tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post3862237314158901328..comments2024-03-28T14:04:54.557-07:00Comments on the prowling Bee: They leave us with the InfiniteSusan Kornfeldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384011972647144453noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4029797379711350813.post-67881768515188474522023-06-13T15:56:29.008-07:002023-06-13T15:56:29.008-07:00Susan’s explication says my interpretation exactly...Susan’s explication says my interpretation exactly, except she names no “you”.<br /><br />Franklin dates Variant A as about first half of 1862, which would precede Wadsworth’s June 1 departure for San Francisco. ED folded but did not address or sign Variant A, which is clean, obviously never mailed. Variant B is unfolded, apparently copied for a fascicle.<br /><br />Variants A and B have identical wording, but Stanza 3 of the folded Variant A has six lines, not four. To my ear the six-line variant commands more definitive personal equality and closing doubt than the four-line version:<br /><br />Variant A<br /><br />So trust him, Comrade—<br />You for you, and I, <br />For you and me—<br />Eternity is ample—<br />And quick enough,<br />If true.<br /><br />Variant B<br /><br />So trust him, Comrade—<br />You for you, and I, for you and me<br />Eternity is ample,<br />And quick enough, if true.<br /><br />Perhaps ED felt Wadsworth would be uneasy with the insistent directness and forceful doubt of Variant A, so kept it to herself.<br />Larry Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02810899482852120751noreply@blogger.com