'Twas the old—road—through pain—
That unfrequented—One—
With many a turn—and thorn—
That stops—at Heaven—
This—was the Town—she passed—
There—where she—rested—last—
Then—stepped more fast—
The little tracks—close prest—
Then—not so swift—
Slow—slow—as feet did weary—grow—
Then—stopped—no other track!
Wait!
Look! Her little Book—
The leaf—at love—turned back—
Her very Hat—
And this worn shoe just fits the
track—
Herself—though—fled!
Another bed—a short one—
Women make—tonight—
In Chambers bright—
Too out of sight—though—
For our hoarse Good Night—
To touch her Head!
F376 (1862)
344
I can’t
say this poem holds much fascination, although it is pleasant enough. Dickinson
begins with a conventional enough metaphor: life as a road that twists and
turns on its way to Heaven. Of course, the road whose destination is heaven is
“That unfrequented—One.” The road to hell, no doubt, has more travellers.
The second stanza describes a
bit of the journey: the town she lived in, the house where she died. We see the
passage of time through her footprints—running at first, then slower with age
until finally stopped entirely.
But then Dickinson changes
voice. The quiet, deathbed voice changes to a bit of wonder. The mourners seize
upon a few things in the room. There is a book, a page on love marked by a
folded corner. Maybe it was a book of poems or perhaps the Bible—which does
have passages here and there about love. And then they remark on the hat and
the shoes. Very sentimental.
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The final stanza sees the dead
woman up in heaven where heavenly hands prepare her bed. She’s now too far away
for the mourners’ “Good Night” to reach her.
These death poems were popular
in Dickinson’s day. Indeed, one of Dickinson’s central concerns was that
liminal space between life, death, and what comes—or does not come—next. This
poem doesn’t rank among her most searching or original, but no doubt it was
passed on to friends or acquaintances who enjoyed it.
Longfellow,
alive and famous during Dickinson's lifetime, wrote the famous line
"Footprints on the sands of time," in his poem "A Psalm of
Life." Here's the verse the line is taken from that poem:
Lives of
great men all remind us
We can
make our lives sublime,
And,
departing, leave behind us
Footprints
on the sands of time
literature student who desperately needs an analysis, if anyone sees this please comment your thoughts on the poem, any thoughts at all.
ReplyDeleteI learned in my Lit class that this poem suggests she had regrets in life, because of how simple her summary of her life was. Also it one of her only poems that were like the women of her time.
DeleteDo you think that in this poem the rhythm works like the walk to Heaven, considering the dashes?
ReplyDeleteWhat an interesting idea. I don't really know, but if I try it, I like it. Thanks for posting!
DeleteThanks for the reply. I love your blog!
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