Linda's Literary Home

Tag: God

  • Emily Dickinson’s “I gave myself to Him”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “I gave myself to Him”

    The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “I gave myself to Him” is musing on the imbalance that remains even after one has surrendered one’s life to God the Creator.

    Introduction and Text of “I gave myself to Him”

    The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “I gave myself to Him” is exploring the idea that after having devoted her attention to the Creator by giving herself “to Him,” she finds that the giving of such a gift cannot be mutual.  She suggests the idea that the gift of herself will surely disappoint the Giver and Creator of all things.

    She leaves open the notion there may be some mutual gain because “[s]ome” have “found it” so.  She is likely referring to testimony from the saints who assure their listening audience of the great riches attained by such surrender to God.

    The speaker is likely reassuring herself that such a bargain cannot bring about an occasion to boast, nor can it eliminate the necessity to remain humble.  Her ultimate conclusion may seem pessimistic at first. 

    However, God remains the ultimate authority to which the human heart, mind, and soul must surrender regardless of any emphasis of mutuality in considering gain and loss.  Thus without stating the conclusion directly, the speaker is implying that the human debt to God has to remain insolvent until the soul grasps its relationship to its Creator.

    I gave myself to Him

    I gave myself to Him –
    And took Himself, for Pay,
    The solemn contract of a Life
    Was ratified, this way –

    The Wealth might disappoint –
    Myself a poorer prove
    Than this great Purchaser suspect,
    The Daily Own – of Love

    Depreciate the Vision –
    But till the Merchant buy –
    Still Fable – in the Isles of Spice –
    The subtle Cargoes – lie –

    At least – ’tis Mutual – Risk –
    Some – found it – Mutual Gain –
    Sweet Debt of Life – Each Night to owe –
    Insolvent – every Noon –

    Commentary on “I gave myself to Him”

    The speaker is exploring the nature of her relationship with her Divine Creator, the Heavenly Father, Divine Mother, or God.  Although she professes to have given her life to her Creator or Heavenly Father, she discovers that she still owes a debt that can never fully be repaid.

    First Stanza:  Surrendering Her Life to the Divine 

    I gave myself to Him –
    And took Himself, for Pay,
    The solemn contract of a Life
    Was ratified, this way –

    The speaker begins with a somewhat ambiguous statement that she has given herself to “Him.”  The capitalized, masculine pronoun “Him” indicates she is likely referring to her Creator (God).  Such capitalization is known as reverential or biblical capitalization.  She continues to employ the reverential capital in the second line with the reflexive, masculine pronoun “Himself.” 

    The idea of giving oneself or one’s life to God is hardly a novel one.  The religious and spiritual minded become positively gleeful at the notion of surrendering their lives to their Creator.  So upon first encountering the speaker’s claim, the reader will then wonder what new or fascinating rendition of such a confession might be in the offing.

    The speaker then begins to elaborate.  After surrendering herself to God, the speaker affirms that her life became a reality. Her “contract” offers her “Pay,” or something substantial for her surrender.

    That contract, in fact, “ratified” her existence.  Just as a political contract, such as the American Constitution, had to be ratified, the speaker’s life was ratified or put into existence by affirmation by the contract she made when she gave her life to God.

    Second Stanza:  An Economics (Trade) Metaphor 

    The Wealth might disappoint –
    Myself a poorer prove
    Than this great Purchaser suspect,
    The Daily Own – of Love

    The speaker then admits that the “Purchaser” of her insignificant life might well be disappointed because she may prove to be “poorer” than the Purchaser of her contract might have suspected.

    The “great Purchaser” (God) may find that her ability to offer love may not be up to the standards He might expect.  Of course, she is demonstrating her ability to remain humble because she is well aware that God’s love will always outweigh, outshine, and outpace her own.

    Likely she is simply thinking of or musing on possibilities, as she employs an economics (trade) metaphor with such terms as “wealth,” “Purchaser,” and “Own.”   She cannot know how important this life choice is going to be for her ability to love or to navigate the seas upon which her life’s boat will have to sail.  

    The speaker can only contemplate at this point, although she does know she can be certain that God’s love will always be greater than she could ever afford; the inevitability of such remains a given, a concept that even the most ardent atheist can grasp even if not accept.

    Third Stanza:  Speculating on Her Importance

    Depreciate the Vision –
    But till the Merchant buy –
    Still Fable – in the Isles of Spice –
    The subtle Cargoes – lie –

    The speaker continues to muse and employ a trade metaphor.  She suggests that one must lower expectations until the time has arrived to sell the product.  Although she has, in fact, given her life over to the “Purchaser,” she has continued to speculate about her own importance.  

    Thus she wonders if she might have oversold her own self in the process.  She then suggests that like the precious “Cargoes” that remain in places from which rich spices are harvested, she may have presented herself as a fabulous commodity that is yet to be realized, like those “subtle Cargoes.”  They remain “subtle” until they are delivered.  And until they are delivered they simply rest or “lie” in one place.

    Fourth Stanza:  Equal Loss – Equal Gain

    At least – ’tis Mutual – Risk –
    Some – found it – Mutual Gain –
    Sweet Debt of Life – Each Night to owe –
    Insolvent – every Noon –

    Finally, the speaker seems to come to the notion that the exchange is not all one-sided:  there may be a chance of failure on both sides.  Yet, she asserts that there are those (saints perhaps?) who have declared that such a transaction garners gain on both sides.

    After all, each night when the human body lies down to rest, it owes a debt for its life.  As all debts must be repaid, that same body with a mind, heart, and soul continues to own that debt, which remains “insolvent” in the bright light of day.

    While night time reminds the human ego as it prays to its Creator that it has not created itself, still it must remain aware to Whom it owes its continued existence.  The speaker’s insolvency will remain because the limited human mind and heart can never repay the debt it owes its all-powerful Creator and Benefactor; only the soul can do that.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “‘Why do I love’ You, Sir?”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “‘Why do I love’ You, Sir?”

    The speaker of Emily Dickinson’s oddly punctuated poem “‘Why do I love’ You, Sir?” uses logic to demonstrate the reasoning that leads the created soul to experience love for its Creator.

    Introduction with Text of “‘Why do I love’ You, Sir?”

    This unusual Emily Dickinson poem begins with the following oddly punctuated first line: “Why do I love” You, Sir?

    Emily Dickinson’s Editors

    When analyzing the poems of Emily Dickinson’s, it is useful to remember that she did not work with an editor for the purpose of publishing.   Her poems were first edited after her death by Thomas Wentworth Higginson and Mabel Loomis Todd.

    But, unfortunately, their reworking often smoothed out Dickinson’s quirky use of language to the point of crushing the innovation and nuances that made her the unique poet that she was.  Therefore, Thomas H. Johnson restored her poems to the originals as found in the bundles (fascicles) of poems written in her own handwriting. 

    Thus the reader must be aware that Dickinson might have been persuaded to alter some of her quirks for publication, if she had been assured that her meaning would not be changed but instead made clearer by the changes.

    The odd punctuation of this poem, especially the first line, is an example of a Dickinsonian quirk which, no doubt, would have been altered by an editor after close consultation with the poet.  Indeed, it would be fascinating to hear Dickinson’s explanation for placing “Why do I love” in quotation marks, making it appear as a unit of thought that seems to address the second person “You.”

    No one can ever know for certain what significance that odd punctuation might have had for the poet, and it is likely that modern readers may simply dismiss the quotation marks as they begin the poem.

    The poem features four stanzas; the first two are innovative cinquains, the third is an innovative sestet, and the fourth is a Dickinsonian quatrain.  The poem dramatizes the theme of God’s love as mystery.  

    But it also makes it clear that the speaker is simplifying that emotion:  it is merely a natural sequence of events that the created soul will love its Creator.  The complication comes in giving thought to that sequence.  The speaker seems to desire to uncomplicate the issue once and for all.

    “Why do I love” You, Sir?

    “Why do I love” You, Sir?
    Because –
    The Wind does not require the Grass
    To answer – Wherefore when He pass
    She cannot keep Her place.

    Because He knows — and
    Do not You –
    And We know not –
    Enough for Us
    The Wisdom it be so –

    The Lightning – never asked an Eye
    Wherefore it shut — when He was by –
    Because He knows it cannot speak –
    And reasons not contained –
    – Of Talk –
    There be – preferred by Daintier Folk –

    The Sunrise – Sire – compelleth Me –
    Because He’s Sunrise – and I see –
    Therefore – Then –
    I love Thee –

    Commentary on “‘Why do I love’ You, Sir?”

    The speaker of Dickinson’s oddly punctuated poem uses logic to demonstrate the reasoning that leads the created soul to love for its Creator.

    First Stanza:   Unavoidable Love

    “Why do I love” You, Sir?
    Because –
    The Wind does not require the Grass
    To answer – Wherefore when He pass
    She cannot keep Her place.

    The speaker seems to be talking to the Divine Reality (God), calling Him “Sir,” and questioning Him as to why she loves Him. Then the speaker replies with her own answer, “Because — / The Wind does not require the Grass / To answer.”  However, in order to completely respond to this amazing mystery, the speaker finds it necessary to compare her feelings with phenomena of nature. 

    She thus decides to compare her love to the act of love the grass possesses.  The grass simply cannot prevent itself from undergoing its waving motion after the wind has blown through it. 

    The speaker’s love for her Heavenly Father Creator God is just simply natural.  There can be no questioning it.   Of course, she will continue to question and answer.  That’s just the way she rolls!

    Second Stanza:  The Wisdom of Love

    Because He knows — and
    Do not You –
    And We know not –
    Enough for Us
    The Wisdom it be so –

    In the second stanza, the speaker suggests that God as Father along with all she knows about anything, holds the “Wisdom” motivating the love in the soul of the created children for their Creator.   Nothing more is necessary, because everything is enfolded in that love and wisdom.

    Third Stanza:  “Why” Remains Irrelevant

    The Lightning – never asked an Eye
    Wherefore it shut — when He was by –
    Because He knows it cannot speak –
    And reasons not contained –
    – Of Talk –
    There be – preferred by Daintier Folk –

    In the third stanza, the speaker returns to describing phenomena of nature to explicate the “why”:  she reveals that that love eruption is akin to lightning striking the eye.  The eye will never stop to ask “why” it is acting as it does as it closes from the onslaught of  the light’s sudden brilliance.  Intimately coalescing occurrences do not motivate one to ask why.  They just are.  Or it is so obvious that no one has ever in history bothered to question it.   

    The speaker is nevertheless still aware that human minds crave reasons for things and events.   The human mind wants to discuss and declaim about the ineffable, even though the ineffable will never be “contained — / — Of Talk.”   The mind may be likened to “Daintier Folk,” who wish everything to be clarified in words, despite the fact that words often cannot perform that feat.

    By qualifying the mind and others who are not privy to such erudition as simply “daintier,” the speaker manages to suggest that there are those who are merely  incapable of seeing what is right before their eyes.  The employment of such a euphemism renders the speaker both kind and sympathetic and yet at the same time demonstrates her unique talent and deep mental perception.

    Fourth Stanza:  The Logic of Loving One’s Creator

    The Sunrise – Sire – compelleth Me –
    Because He’s Sunrise – and I see –
    Therefore – Then –
    I love Thee –

    The love for God, for this speaker, remains quite uncomplicated:  as the sun rises, her eyes perceive light.  As the Creator creates, the created loves.  To her mind, only the completely daft can question the logic of loving one’s Creator.

    But even without uttering any negativity regarding those who lack such natural understanding, the speaker has demonstrated her stance which remains replete with obvious implications.

  • Original Poem “Frosty Fantasy” with Prose Commentary

    Frosty Fantasy

    The hill gives my legs an excuse to bend
    And my arms a chance to steady their trembling
    But my back holds firm as I negotiate each step.
    What were they thinking, my parents, who
    Built their home so far from town?
    I never wished for more than heaven.

    You, however, who grew up far from the midland,
    Kept your heart in a duffle bag, stuffed with straw.
    Sure, I’m only guessing, but you gave me the material:
    Sick laughter, sour smells clinging to your clothes,
    Boasting pride breaking your potential
    Which was poetry itself, sometimes sublime.

    But you allowed your fangs of frosty fantasy
    To make a bloody truant of your future.

    Commentarian Hat Image

    A Prose Commentary on My Original Poem “Frosty Fantasy”

    In my poem “Frosty Fantasy,” I have created a speaker who reflects upon the divergent paths of two lives: one rooted in place, discipline, and spiritual aspiration, the other undermined by self-deception and squandered promise.

    The poem unfolds as a personal address, but beneath its conversational surface lies a musing on character, destiny, and the consequences of embracing illusion over authentic growth.

    The title itself is deliberately ironic. Fantasy ordinarily suggests imagination, creativity, and possibility. Yet the fantasy explored here is “frosty”—cold, sterile, and ultimately destructive. Rather than nurturing the future, it freezes it. 

    The poem’s emotional movement progresses from the speaker’s own grounded perspective toward an examination of another individual whose considerable gifts have been compromised by pride and self-delusion.

    Underlying the poem is the conviction that talent alone cannot sustain a meaningful life. Potential must be guided by self-knowledge, humility, and higher aspiration. Without such guidance, even genuine brilliance may become an instrument of self-sabotage.

    First Stanza:  The Discipline of Ascent

    The hill gives my legs an excuse to bend
    And my arms a chance to steady their trembling
    But my back holds firm as I negotiate each step.
    What were they thinking, my parents, who
    Built their home so far from town?
    I never wished for more than heaven.

    In the opening stanza, my speaker begins with a physical ascent up a hill. The hill is not merely geographical; it serves as a metaphor for the challenges inherent in human life. Each part of the body participates in the effort. The legs bend, the arms steady themselves, and the back remains firm. This catalog of bodily responses emphasizes perseverance and balance.

    The speaker then turns briefly toward the parents who built their home “so far from town.” The question, “What were they thinking?” introduces a touch of humor and mild complaint, but the complaint quickly dissolves into a larger perspective. The concluding line, “I never wished for more than heaven,” transforms what might have remained an ordinary recollection into a spiritual declaration.

    The speaker suggests that physical distance from worldly activity may have fostered a deeper orientation toward transcendent values. The ascent of the hill thus becomes inseparable from the ascent of consciousness.

    Second Stanza:  A Portrait of Displacement

    You, however, who grew up far from the midland,
    Kept your heart in a duffle bag, stuffed with straw.
    Sure, I’m only guessing, but you gave me the material.
    Sick laughter, sour smells clinging to your clothes,
    Boasting pride breaking your potential
    Which was poetry itself, sometimes sublime.

    The second stanza shifts attention toward the person being addressed. Unlike the speaker, this individual is portrayed as fundamentally unsettled. The image of keeping one’s heart “in a duffle bag, stuffed with straw” suggests emotional impermanence and spiritual emptiness.

    A duffle bag is designed for movement and transience; it has no permanence or rootedness. The straw further implies something artificial, a substitute for genuine substance. The heart has become portable but hollow.

    The speaker acknowledges uncertainty with the phrase “Sure, I’m only guessing,” yet immediately asserts that the evidence for such speculation has been provided by the subject himself. This rhetorical maneuver allows the speaker to maintain both humility and authority.

    The subsequent images become increasingly severe. “Sick laughter” and “sour smells” create an atmosphere of moral and psychological decay. These sensory details suggest that inner disorder eventually manifests outwardly. The speaker is less concerned with literal odors or sounds than with the lingering effects of a troubled character.

    The latter portion of the second stanza introduces the poem’s central sorrow. The addressed individual possesses remarkable potential. The speaker observes that his potential “was poetry itself, sometimes sublime.”

    This line is intentionally generous. The poem does not depict an ordinary failure but the squandering of exceptional gifts. The word “sublime” elevates the subject’s capacities beyond mere competence into the realm of genuine artistic and spiritual possibility.

    Yet this praise is immediately juxtaposed against “Boasting pride.” The contrast is crucial. The obstacle is not lack of talent but an inflated sense of self. Pride becomes the force that fractures the connection between potential and fulfillment.  The speaker therefore presents a familiar but painful truth: greatness is often destroyed not by external enemies but by internal weaknesses.

    Third Stanza:  The Tyranny and Tragedy of Illusion

    But you allowed your fangs of frosty fantasy
    To make a bloody truant of your future.

    The final stanza—which is only an unrimed couplet—condenses the poem’s judgment into a single powerful image. The “fangs of frosty fantasy” transform fantasy from a harmless indulgence into a predatory force. Fangs suggest aggression, danger, and injury. 

    The fantasy has become something that bites and wounds. The adjective “frosty” reinforces the image of emotional coldness and spiritual paralysis. Rather than inspiring growth, these fantasies freeze the individual within a false vision of himself.

    The phrase “make a bloody truant of your future” is deliberately startling. A truant abandons responsibility and neglects obligation. Here the future itself becomes the truant, absent because the subject’s choices have driven it away.

    The image suggests that the future was once available but has been injured and expelled through self-defeating behavior. What might have become a life of accomplishment and creative fulfillment has instead been sacrificed to illusion.  The poem ends without reconciliation because the speaker wishes to leave the consequences visible and unresolved. The loss itself becomes the final lesson.

    An Afterthought

    In “Frosty Fantasy,” the speaker examines the painful distance between promise and fulfillment. The poem contrasts two modes of living: one grounded in perseverance, aspiration, and rootedness, the other consumed by pride, instability, and self-deception.

    The speaker’s judgment is severe but not entirely condemnatory. Embedded within the criticism is an acknowledgment that the addressed individual possessed genuine gifts, perhaps even extraordinary ones. This recognition makes the loss more poignant, not less. In fact, that loss may be designated a tragedy in the original usage of the term.

    Ultimately, the poem suggests that imagination detached from truth becomes fantasy, and fantasy detached from discipline becomes destructive. The speaker portrays a life in which illusion gradually eclipses possibility, leaving behind not the fulfillment of potential but the lingering shadow of what might have been.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “Two Butterflies went out at Noon”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “Two Butterflies went out at Noon”

    Emily Dickinson possessed the gift of mystic vision, and that vision is displayed brilliantly in this enchanting poem that dramatizes two butterflies embarking on a mystical flight. The poem offers a glimpse into Dickinson’s ability to blend nature with transcendental themes.

    Introduction and Text of “Two Butterflies went out at Noon”

    In Emily Dickinson’s “Two Butterflies went out at Noon” (#533 in Thomas H. Johnson’s The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson), the speaker is dramatizing an imaginary flight of two butterflies that ease out on a amazing journey.

    Emily Dickinson creates a speaker, whose mystical vision is revealed in many of her poems, and this one serves as one of the finest examples of that vision.  Her insightful gift accompanies her gift for creating little dramas that feature snippets of that insight in poetic form.

    Two Butterflies went out at Noon

    Two Butterflies went out at Noon –
    And waltzed above a Farm –
    Then stepped straight through the Firmament
    And rested on a Beam –

    And then – together bore away
    Upon a shining Sea –
    Though never yet, in any Port –
    Their coming mentioned–be –

    If spoken by the distant Bird –
    If met in Ether Sea
    By Frigate, or by Merchantman –
    No notice – was – to me –

    Commentary on “Two Butterflies went out at Noon”

    In Emily Dickinson’s “Two Butterflies went out at Noon,” the speaker dramatizes an imaginary flight of two butterflies embarking on an extraordinary journey.   This poem exemplifies Dickinson’s mystical vision and her ability to craft poetic dramas that explore profound human themes through metaphorical imagery. It is a masterful example of her unique poetic voice.

    First Stanza: Mysterious Arrival

    Two Butterflies went out at Noon –
    And waltzed above a Farm –
    Then stepped straight through the Firmament
    And rested on a Beam –

    The speaker begins with the simple yet intriguing statement, “Two Butterflies went out at Noon.” The butterflies’ sudden appearance is mysterious; they seemingly emerge from nowhere, unbound by any specific origin. 

    Their only marker is time—”Noon”—which suggests a moment of illumination or clarity. This temporal detail invites readers to ponder their symbolic significance as creatures of light and transformation.

    The butterflies “waltzed above a Farm,” an image that evokes grace and harmony. Their movement suggests a carefree dance, embodying the beauty of nature’s fleeting moments. 

    The farm below serves as a grounding contrast to their ethereal presence, emphasizing their transcendence. Yet, their origin remains unknown, adding an air of mystery to their appearance and suggesting they are more than merely the physical beings well-known as butterflies.

    The speaker does not clarify her own location during this observation, leaving readers to wonder whether she is physically present or perceiving them through an inner, mystical,  transcendental vision. 

    After their graceful waltz, the butterflies “stepped straight through the Firmament,” ascending beyond the earthly realm into the heavens. This transition marks their departure from tangible reality into a cosmic or spiritual dimension.

    Once beyond the firmament, the butterflies “rested on a Beam.” The beam could symbolize a ray of sunlight or divine energy, reinforcing their connection to higher realms. 

    This imagery suggests that the speaker’s perception extends beyond ordinary sight; she sees with an inner eye attuned to spiritual truths. The butterflies become metaphors for thoughts or souls—ephemeral entities that transcend physical boundaries.

    Dickinson’s speaker’s metaphorical comparison likens these butterflies to thoughts—mysterious, fleeting, and boundless. Just as thoughts arise spontaneously and traverse unseen realms, so do these butterflies appear suddenly and vanish into intangible spaces with grace and speed. 

    The journey of these special butterflies mirrors the movement of ideas or spiritual insights that come unbidden and often disappear just as quickly.  The nature of flight coincides with the nature of speed and lightness.

    Second Stanza: Ephemeral Thoughts

    And then – together bore away
    Upon a shining Sea –
    Though never yet, in any Port –
    Their coming mentioned–be –

    In the second stanza, the butterflies continue their journey “Upon a shining Sea.” This sea symbolizes eternity or an infinite expanse, reflecting Dickinson’s  life-long fascination with transcendence and the soul’s voyage beyond earthly confines. 

    The imagery evokes a sense of boundlessness, as the butterflies glide effortlessly over this luminous ocean without needing any vessel to carry them.  Just as the soul, and even the mind, may seem to glide effortlessly from thought to feeling and back again.

    The speaker notes that these remarkable butterfly-thoughts never stop at “any Port.” Their journey is uninterrupted by mundane destinations; they pass through existence without anchoring themselves in any fixed location. This detail emphasizes their ephemeral nature—they are not bound by material concerns but remain free to traverse limitless realms.

    The absence of any mention of their arrival further underscores their elusiveness. The speaker suggests that if their presence had been detected in any port along their journey, it surely would have been noted or remarked upon by someone. Yet no such acknowledgment exists, heightening the sense of mystery surrounding their destination and purpose.

    This seamless movement evokes wonder about where these itinerant butterflies will go next. Their path seems guided by an unseen force, reflecting Dickinson’s belief in the unseen powers that govern existence. 

    The butterflies’ journey becomes a metaphor for fleeting thoughts or spiritual revelations—beautiful yet transient experiences that defy capture or explanation.  Even understanding by mental power exists beyond their realm.

    Through this stanza, Dickinson’s speaker invites readers to reflect on the nature of impermanence and the ineffable qualities of spiritual experiences. The shining sea represents both possibility and mystery, a realm where boundaries dissolve and transformation occurs.

    Third Stanza: Evading the Ultimate

    If spoken by the distant Bird –
    If met in Ether Sea
    By Frigate, or by Merchantman –
    No notice – was – to me –

    In the final stanza, the speaker avoids answering where the butterflies ultimately settle, instead emphasizing their elusive nature. She speculates about who might have observed them since their departure but concludes that no one has reported seeing them again. This lack of information reinforces their otherworldly quality—they exist beyond human comprehension or observation.

    The speaker imagines possible witnesses who might have encountered these roaming butterflies: perhaps a “distant Bird” soaring high above or voyagers like frigates and merchantmen traversing vast seas.

    These figures symbolize different perspectives—natural creatures attuned to the skies and human explorers navigating uncharted waters, like Christopher Columbus. Yet even these potential observers provide no reports of the butterflies’ whereabouts.

    This absence of acknowledgment underscores their ethereal quality—they are invisible to ordinary perception and evade even those who might be best positioned to notice them. The butterflies symbolize fleeting thoughts or spiritual entities that traverse unseen dimensions, leaving no trace behind.

    The speaker herself admits that she has no concrete knowledge of their final destination. Even as she entertains these butterfly-thoughts within her mind, she acknowledges their elusive nature—they come and go without leaving tangible evidence of their presence. Only through poetic imagination can she capture and display them for others to experience.

    The speaker’s portrayal of these creatures reflects her longing for transcendence and her fascination with life’s mysteries. The poem becomes a devotional musing on impermanence, beauty, and the soul’s journey beyond the material level of existence.

    A Poetic Meditation on Transcendence

    In “Two Butterflies went out at Noon,” Emily Dickinson creates a speaker, who weaves an intricate tapestry of imagery and symbolism to explore themes of impermanence, transcendence, and spiritual insight. 

    The butterflies serve as metaphors for fleeting thoughts or souls—ephemeral entities that arise mysteriously, traverse unseen realms, and vanish without explanation—the nearly perfect description of the flight of thoughts and soul experience.

    Through her vivid descriptions and enigmatic narrative, Dickinson’s speaker invites readers to reflect on life’s mysteries and embrace the beauty of impermanence. The poem exemplifies her ability to transform simple observations into profound musings on existence, showcasing her unique poetic vision.

    Dickinson’s mystical perspective shines brightly in this work, offering readers not only a glimpse into her imaginative world but also an opportunity to contemplate their own journeys through life’s vast and mysterious landscapes.

    A musical rendition  

  • The Flowers Are Bright Today

    Image: Created by Grok inspired by the poem
    Image: Created by Grok inspired by the poem

    The Flowers Are Bright Today

    The flowers are bright today.
    They take on an ethereal glow.
    They bloom in the flames of my tongue—
    And then remain silent.

    They give off joy from a sacred place.
    Their fragrance shies away from contempt.
    As dumb as trees, they speak a holy tongue.
    Noise has no sway with their beauty.

    They employ no mask to obfuscate dawn.
    They seek no retribution in the storm.
    They bend as needed—
    Not to a dictator but to their Liberator.

    In the fires of eternity, they sing eternally.
    They rock their love in the equation
    Where humankind wishes to exist.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “I cannot dance upon my Toes”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “I cannot dance upon my Toes”

    Famously, the poet Emily Dickinson lived a reclusive life.  She protected her privacy.  In her poetry canon, she often crafted little poetic dramas exploring and exposing the great joy her solitude afforded her. This poem is one of those little dramas.

    Introduction with Text of “I cannot dance upon my Toes”

    Emily Dickinson’s “I cannot dance upon my Toes” offers five stanzas, setting forth the poet’s famous slant rimes and non-traditional rhythms. The speaker is celebrating, with special emphasis, her personal experiences of “Glee.”

    She knows that her readers/listeners will readily perceive her comparison to great performances in dance, theater, and opera.  While her speaker does not link her joyous ecstasy to any particular public performances, she experiences great ecstatic bliss which she deems similar to the feelings heralded by such artistic displays.

    I cannot dance upon my Toes

    I cannot dance upon my Toes –
    No Man instructed me –
    But oftentimes, among my mind,
    A Glee possesseth me,

    That had I Ballet knowledge –
    Would put itself abroad
    In Pirouette to blanch a Troupe –
    Or lay a Prima, mad,

    And though I had no Gown of Gauze –
    No Ringlet, to my Hair,
    Nor hopped to Audiences – like Birds,
    One Claw upon the Air,

    Nor tossed my shape in Eider Balls,
    Nor rolled on wheels of snow
    Till I was out of sight, in sound,
    The House encore me so –

    Nor any know I know the Art
    I mention – easy –Here –
    Nor any Placard boast me –
    It’s full as Opera –

    Commentary on “I cannot dance upon my Toes”

    In Emily Dickinson’s “I cannot dance upon my Toes,” the speaker is creating a colorful poetic drama that examines the amazing joy afforded her through her engagement with solitude.

    First Quatrain:  The Joy of Dancing

    I cannot dance upon my Toes –
    No Man instructed me –
    But oftentimes, among my mind,
    A Glee possesseth me,

    The speaker asserts that she does not have the proficiency to dance as a ballerina would, because she has not received the necessary training and lessons that such dancers need to undergo. However, there are times during which she has the ability to experience indescribable joy of her soul.  She suggests that such joy may be similar to that experienced through ballet.

    The ability to dance upon one’s the toes remains a physical prowess, and very few individuals ever have the ability to reach such a lofty achievement.  Because such ability and talent remain so rare, the speaker assumes that those who have the talent to render such performances must then experience “Glee.”

    Second Quatrain:  Skill That Remains Amazing

    That had I Ballet knowledge –
    Would put itself abroad
    In Pirouette to blanch a Troupe –
    Or lay a Prima, mad,

    The speaker then reports that if she ever had the special talent and physical agility to dance upon her toes, she would experience a fantastic level of “Glee.”  The feeling would allow her to beam her talent as does the best of artists in the art of the ballet.

    She is sure that her amazing skill would put the prima ballerina to shame causing that dancer to become maddened.  The entire company of the ballet would become astonished by her amazing skill.

    The speaker’s exaggeration places emphasize upon her belief that her soul qualities alone are responsible for her actual talent, and she wishes to pay homage to the Divine Essence which bestows on her such abilities. 

    Third Quatrain:  No Fancy Outerwear

    And though I had no Gown of Gauze –
    No Ringlet, to my Hair,
    Nor hopped to Audiences –like Birds,
    One Claw upon the Air,

    In the third quatrain, the speaker reveals that she does not own gowns and gauze, as the famously public celebrity would possess.  She also does not have the ability to sport other fancy clothing as theatrical talent may do.  She also cannot have her hair styled into decorous fashion.  No make-up artists ever visit her to ply their wares. She will wear no ringlets in her hair.

    Because the speaker does not engage in the art of the ballet, she does not have the ability to fully comprehend that specialized art form.  She freely admits that she has never engaged and will never experience the feelings that ballet dancers do as they cavort and prance upon the stage “like Birds” with “One Claw upon the Air.”

    The speaker seems to express a modicum of disdain in describing the ballerinas as birds hopping across as stage with their hands in the air resembling the claw of a bird.  That fascinating image elevates the description as it so colorfully fits the event.

    Fourth Quatrain:  Keeping Life Simple

    Nor tossed my shape in Eider Balls,
    Nor rolled on wheels of snow
    Till I was out of sight, in sound,
    The House encore me so –

    The speaker then offers further images that reveal experiences which she has never had and likely never will experience.  For example, she has never “tossed” her body in “Eider Balls.”  Instead of the fancy, intricate costumes which ballerinas and opera singers wear, this speaker dresses herself in simple clothing. 

    She has never finished a performance by dancing out of sight of the audience.  She has never been called back to the stage by a ardent group of fans as they continue to applaud, prompting her to return to give them an enthusiastic “encore.”

    Fifth Quatrain:  Heavenly Rewards

    Nor any know I know the Art
    I mention –easy –Here –
    Nor any Placard boast me –
    It’s full as Opera –

    This speaker is demonstrating that she resides and thrives far outside of the milieu of ballet dancers.  She suspects that no one with whom she is acquainted would even have an inkling that she has ever become aware that such an art exists. 

    Through intuition, this speaker can comprehend that the value of her work and her ultimate worth are equal to –if, in fact, they do not overtake in value –that of the performances that have received so many accolades of praise.  

    She is convinced that her accolades remain on a mystical level of being.  Therefore, she can dance upon her toes –if only metaphorically and mystically –through her God-given talents reserved especially for her.

    Through this speaker, the poet has paid tribute to her poetic talent and even, at least in her own mind, has elevated her own talent.  In effect, she is averring that she is quite content to be unknown poet.  

    Even having the ability to be a celebrated prima ballerina cannot complete with the joy she experiences through her poetry creation.  Her garden of verse offers her her own stage for performance that makes it possible for her to live a complete life.

  • Leave off the Past Again and Again

    Image-Created by ChatGPT inspired by the poem
    Image: Created by ChatGPT inspired by the poem

    Leave off the Past Again and Again

    for Me as a Young Girl

    Leave off the past again and again—
    Because I got used to trying to run
    When I was too young to know,
    I didn’t have to run but merely walk well.

    The others seemed to be always ahead
    And I could never catch up.
    The pain in my side told me
    I could not compete.

    But I wore my misery like a veil
    Covering some future tranquility
    That I could never achieve
    In the darkness of adolescence.

    Why did I not see that I could breathe
    Free in the air of ancient philosophy? —
    Even after I learned to walk with tenets
    And practice techniques for freedom?

    Peace is a heavenly state of being,
    Secured by tranquility and mindfulness,
    But it is not easy to sit still
    With a body screaming out pain.

    The more I put off, the more I fail
    But I seem to know what I do not know
    Even as I break my heart over
    My vague thoughts and prayers.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “There’s a certain Slant of light”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “There’s a certain Slant of light”

    Dickinson closely observed and investigated her surroundings; she also keenly examined her own feelings then dramatized those feelings in poems.  In “There’s a certain Slant of light,” her speaker is infusing melancholy into her perception of light streaming through a window on a winter afternoon.

    Introduction with Text of “There’s a certain Slant of light”

    Emily Dickinson developed the habit of closely observing as she investigated her surroundings.  The poet then keenly examined and mused upon her own feelings, finally dramatizing those feelings in poems.

    The poet created this speaker in “There’s a certain Slant of light” to reveal a mood of slight melancholy as she muses on a shaft of light streaming in through her window on a winter afternoon.  

    That streaming light through the window seems to tip and tilt, that is, “slant,” in a way that causes the speaker to undergo that sense of melancholy, which is no ordinary gloom but brings with it a spiritual aspect. 

    The speaker creates a little drama based on her intense feeling of spiritual intuition which has been motivated by a simple “Slant of light” streaming in through the window on a cold, winter afternoon.

    There’s a certain Slant of light

    There’s a certain Slant of light,
    Winter Afternoons –
    That oppresses, like the Heft
    Of Cathedral Tunes –

    Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
    We can find no scar,
    But internal difference,
    Where the Meanings, are –

    None may teach it – Any –
    ‘Tis the Seal Despair –
    An imperial affliction
    Sent us of the air –

    When it comes, the Landscape listens –
    Shadows – hold their breath –
    When it goes, ’tis like the Distance
    On the look of Death –

    Reading of “There’s a certain Slant of light” 

    Commentary on “There’s a certain Slant of light”

    A simple viewing of a shaft of light streaming into the room on a winter day engenders in this speaker a melancholy prompting this little drama.  The spiritual experience thus is rendered in paradox—the ultimate literary device for communicating the ineffable.

    First Stanza:  The Oppression of Tilting Light

    There’s a certain Slant of light,
    Winter Afternoons –
    That oppresses, like the Heft
    Of Cathedral Tunes –

    The speaker begins the drama by asserting that on certain winter afternoons the light shining in through her window comes in at a “certain Slant” and that tilting light “oppresses” her in the way the heavy tones of sacred chants might do. Although light is weightless, to the speaker in this particular mood, it seems heavy enough to oppress her into melancholy.

    A paradox results from the speaker finding the “light” to be as heavy as church music.  Music experienced in church is meant to uplift, not weigh one down.  If something that is meant to uplift does the opposite, then one has to explore the reasons for such oppression.  Why would music that ordinarily produces a spiritual upliftment become an instrument of oppression—that is, something that is heavy?

    Second Stanza:  The Human Craving for Meaning

    Heavenly Hurt, it gives us –
    We can find no scar,
    But internal difference,
    Where the Meanings, are –

    The deeply inspiring sound of “Cathedral Tunes” brings the speaker to a place of “Heavenly Hurt.”  Again, she paradoxically describes her experience:  Heaven is a spiritual place where there is no hurt, no pain, no distress, no oppression—only bliss. 

    The speaker confirms as much as she avers that this “hurt” never results in a “scar.”  And it also leaves no physical mark such as scar because this melancholy is inside of the speaker; it is her soul that has engaged with this music, this light, that has caused this spiritual experience.

    The speaker employs the term, “Meaning”—all human beings on all levels of awareness crave meaning in their lives, and the speaker has become aware of the meaning of an inner life that is more important than the corporeal.  True meaning come from the soul not from the body that changes and dies, nor from the mind that knows nothing but change.

    Third Stanza:  Soul Meaning

    None may teach it – Any –
    ‘Tis the Seal Despair –
    An imperial affliction
    Sent us of the air –

    The speaker then affirms that one cannot be taught this kind of soul meaning. The mystical state of the desire for meaning comes on one unbidden, as casually as taking a breath. “Despair” of the material world often leads one to ask the question, is this all there is to life?

    But the individual becomes a seeker after she begins to entertain such questions.  Divine cravings may be prompted by any outward experience such as light tilting in through a window, but those cravings for spiritual reality can be satisfied only through soul-union, which is Divine Awareness.  The melancholy of spiritual desire is a first step to that Ultimate Awareness.

    Fourth Stanza:  The Nature of Reality

    When it comes, the Landscape listens –
    Shadows – hold their breath –
    When it goes, ’tis like the Distance
    On the look of Death – 

    After the strong spiritual desire for meaning, that is, comprehending the nature of Reality approaches the sensibility of the individual, that individual wished to cease the flux of all phenomena in order to listen—”be still and know that I am God” (KJV, Psalm 46:10).

    This speaker creates her drama by asserting that “Shadows  – hold their breath.”  Shadows holding their breath suggests a depth of quietness that is nearly unfathomable.  A miraculous awareness engulfs the speaker.

    The speaker has discovered that this “heavenly hurt,” this spiritual melancholy, transforms itself into the light of understanding.  Death loses its grip and meaning after such a level of awareness is achieved, no longer grasping the heart and mind of the individual.  

    After death has become merely a distant force, the spiritual aspirant sees more clearly all other forces that operate in her sphere.  The speaker has thus reached that inner Goal.  Death is beaten and given its place to Awareness. 

    The Science and Symbolism of Light

    That a simple “Slant of light” should engender a deep mystic state of awareness in this speaker is quite apt.  Regarding the nature of light, in his spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi [1], Paramahansa Yogananda has explained that the material universe is composed of light.  Many modern discoveries have revealed to humanity that the cosmos is composed of various expressions of one power—light—guided by Divine Intelligence.

    Paramahansa Yogananda has also explained that only differing rates of vibration account for the differing forms that exist throughout the cosmos:

    Modern science has shown that everything in the universe is composed of energy (light), and that the apparent differentiation between solids, liquids, gases, sound, and light is merely a difference in their vibratory rates.

    Also in his autobiography, Paramahansa Yogananda has explained in detail the nature of light, comparing it to other “waves”:

    Among the trillion mysteries of the cosmos, the most phenomenal is light. Unlike sound waves, whose transmission requires air or other material media, light waves pass freely through the vacuum of interstellar space. Even the hypothetical ether, held as the interplanetary medium of light in the undulatory theory, may be discarded on the Einsteinian grounds that the geometrical properties of space render unnecessary a theory of ether. Under either hypothesis, light remains the most subtle, the freest from material dependence, of any natural manifestation.

    The individual who has achieved the realization that “the essence of creation is light” is thus capable of operating the law of miracles.  The term miracle simply applies to any phenomenon whose operation science [2] has yet to discover.  

    What the soul knows through intuition will always be running miles and years ahead of what physical science [3] knows because physical science can explore and examine only the created cosmos not the Creator of that cosmos.  The soul, however, being a spark of the Creator, knows all that the Creator knows—either in fact or in potential.

    Emily Dickinson’s employment of light in this poem thus results from her deep intuitive awareness that light is the building substance of the cosmos.  Therefore, “light” becomes a symbol for that intuition that would continue to guide the poet as she continued to create her  mystical, metaphysical, metaphorical “garden” of poetry.

    Sources

    [1]  Paramahansa Yogananda.  Autobiography of a Yogi.  Self-Realization Fellowship.  Accessed June 3, 2026.
    [2]  Ard Louis.  “Miracles and Science: The Long Shadow of David Hume.”  The BioLogos Foundation.  March 12, 2018.
    [3]  Lisa Zyga.  “Quantum Mysticism: Gone but Not Forgotten.” Phys.org.  June 8, 2009.

  • Emily Dickinson’s “The Soul’s distinct connection”

    Image: Emily Dickinson - Amherst College - Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 - likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet
    Image: Emily Dickinson – Amherst College – Daguerrotype of the poet at age 17, circa 1847 – likely the only authentic, extant likeness of the poet

    Emily Dickinson’s “The Soul’s distinct connection”

    The speaker in Emily Dickinson’s “The Soul’s distinct connection” reveals that immortality is suddenly disclosed through shock and danger experiences.

    Introduction and Text of “The Soul’s distinct connection”

    The speaker presents “The Soul’s distinct connection” as a compressed American-Innovative lyric exploring spiritual perception. Its short lines and slant rimes create a sudden movement from idea to visionary image. The speaker suggests immortality is not gradual knowledge but a flash of direct awareness.

    The speaker frames immortality as something revealed through sudden crisis rather than gradual understanding. The structure anticipates a metaphysical shock that disrupts ordinary perception.

    The Soul’s distinct connection”

    The Soul’s distinct connection
    With immortality
    Is best disclosed by Danger
    Or quick Calamity –

    As Lightning on a Landscape
    Exhibits Sheets of Place –
    Not yet suspected – but for Flash –
    And Click – and Suddenness.

    Commentary on “The Soul’s distinct connection”

    The speaker frames immortality as something revealed through sudden crisis rather than gradual understanding. The structure anticipates a metaphysical shock that disrupts ordinary perception.  Her vision aligns with Paramahansa Yogananda’s teaching that immortality is perceived through sudden inner awakening beyond ordinary awareness.

    First Stanza: The Soul and Immortality

    The Soul’s distinct connection
    With immortality
    Is best disclosed by Danger
    Or quick Calamity –

    In the first stanza, the speaker defines a direct relationship between the soul and immortality, presenting the connection as inherent rather than acquired, embedded within the very structure of consciousness itself. This connection is not continuously visible in ordinary perception, but it becomes evident when danger or sudden calamity interrupts the expected flow of life and thought. 

    Paramahansa Yogananda explains that the soul perceives immortality most clearly when the mind is startled into higher awareness beyond sensory routine, allowing intuitive consciousness to rise above temporal limitation enabling perception of immortality as immediate experience rather than abstract belief grounded in time-bound reasoning.

    In the phrase “Danger / Or quick Calamity,” the speaker emphasizes the disruptive force required to awaken spiritual perception, suggesting that only extreme interruption can break habitual mental patterns. 

    On my literary website Linda’s Literary Home, I have discussed the fact that Dickinson often uses shock imagery to reveal hidden spiritual states, where disruption becomes a gateway to deeper awareness of the soul. 

    Here the speaker suggests that spiritual awareness emerges when normal continuity is broken, forcing consciousness into a heightened state of perception that resembles awakening from illusion aligning consciousness with a sudden intuitive shift beyond habitual cognition.

    Second Stanza: Soul Suddenness

    As Lightning on a Landscape
    Exhibits Sheets of Place –
    Not yet suspected – but for Flash –
    And Click – and Suddenness.

    In the second stanza, the speaker uses lightning as the central image to describe how spiritual perception suddenly reveals the hidden structure of reality, revealing perception as a sudden cognitive rupture rather than a gradual interpretive process unfolding in time. 

    This revelation is not gradual but instantaneous, exposing “Sheets of Place” across the landscape of experience implying hidden dimensionality within ordinary perception itself. 

    Paramahansa Yogananda explains that divine insight often arrives like a flash of lightning, dissolving mental obscurity and awakening superconscious awareness where consciousness transcends linear reasoning and enters intuitive cognition.

    The speaker suggests that reality is composed of layers that are normally invisible, only becoming apparent when perception is abruptly illuminated suggesting that ordinary awareness conceals deeper structures until disrupted by sudden insight. 

    On my literary website Linda’s Literary Home, I have noted that Dickinson compresses vast metaphysical ideas into brief, electric imagery that mimics sudden spiritual awakening where brevity intensifies metaphysical meaning through concentrated symbolic expression that emphasizes non-linear cognition characteristic of mystical experience. 

    This structure mirrors mystical experience, where understanding arrives all at once rather than through linear reasoning reinforcing the immediacy of perception as a sudden cognitive awakening beyond temporal sequence, dissolving fragmentation into unified awareness that transcends sensory division aligning sensory faculties into a single integrated perception of truth.

    The imagery of flash and click emphasizes immediacy, suggesting a sudden recognition of truth that cannot be delayed or extended over time emphasizing that spiritual understanding arrives as a decisive moment rather than gradual accumulation. 

    Paramahansa Yogananda explains that when consciousness rises above sensory limitation, truth is perceived as a single unified moment of clarity marking transformation from illusion to awakened recognition within consciousness. 

    The speaker frames this experience as both visual and auditory, merging perception into one unified spiritual event where poetic compression mirrors expanded metaphysical insight through condensed language.

  • Sundry Commands

    201a Image-Created by Grok inspired by the poem.jpg
    Image: Created by Grok inspired by the poem

    Sundry Commands

    Bring your toys, play with boats and rings,
    Bright strings of angels float about cool things.
    Wake up the sloth in your bonnet; red ribbons
    Tied to the anchor of drowning load the harbor.
    Quiet the noise in your brain, solace your neighbor.

    String your tunes onto the backs of commands.
    You have known steady loons to break in memory.
    Wake up in a drawing room filled with letters.
    Take responsibility for your own doings.
    Make apples turn brown in crusty weather.

    Do all in gentle rain that keeps the flow.
    Make haste to relinquish the death handle.
    Your parents had steel spines and fevered brains
    Yet their hearts kept time with the astral drum.
    Squelch the noise in your ear and fly over scum.

    Sing songs that spill rivers in the minds of harps.
    Don’t break the momentum of falling leaves.
    The floor of each heart is scattered with regrets.
    Go dumb in the face of disingenuity.
    Bring a noisy lantern that scrubs flaccid wine.

    Sing more songs, compose poetry for the ages.
    Copy the style but not the brunt of sages.
    Each balloon that pops drops a bird.
    Make each crisis sing with loud abandon
    That the noise in your brain flee to the outskirts.