~ An Emily Dickinson Theory
Because we writers feel so deeply
Our hearts can soar to heights of praise,
And when we put it on the page
The reader knows that we have seen
The places he himself has been.
But every height must have reverse.
Our hearts have known the depth of grief,
And, when that feeling we express,
It is as lovely as the rest.
For the reader knows that someone else
Has felt the pain he has himself.
Because we know that this is so
Our life is lonely, for we know
That we must live in solitude,
For who could live with someone who
Can swing from heights of greatest joy
Down to the depth of sorrow's door.
Yet through the lonely life we lead,
We know for us there is a need.
For us that compensation is
Just reason for the life we live.
This is lovely Adeline - thank you for posting again and inviting me to read. The poet's heart contains the world.
Wherever Emily Dickinson is now, dear Adeline Foster, I am certain she must feel more than compensated as well not only by the joy of writing poetry but by your understanding her life when so many biographers especially on the current scene have made her almost an object of ridicule, gossip and outright obtuse evaluation. Her life, lived for poetry you have redeemed in words, her dignity, even, her nobility and as well, the nobility of this kind of poetic vocation. Thank You.
I found this piece so relatable because it sounds like you're channeling a writer's journey through collecting ideas and diving into the emotional places we get in. I loved this poem!
What ever made you think that I was trying to write like Emily Dickinson? It is, as the title says, about poets including Emily, a theory only. Style or wording has no connection to her, it is just my own conjecture on what makes poets tick. Adeline
The style strikes me as more Wordsworth than Dickinson. In fact, Wordsworth has an extensive preface of a republishing which is like,10 pages long, and talks very much along these lines. Dickinson had a more scattered- breathy style. The main connection which the poem has to Emily is its insistence that the poet walks a lonely path, of which she most definitely walked. I really liked the poem, and I think the purpose overtakes the art (word choice and metaphors) , which is an annoying phenomenon that happens frequently. What it means to be a poet really connects with what it means to be human. Do you have such a piece, Adeline?
a lovely read on Emily. Writer's emotions run deep more so than othe people.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Yes, true! such is the tenor between the writer and the reader, the one who feels deeply, speaks of the other one's pain...herein lies the reason of poetry being a universal phenomenon in our abstract world...Emily Dickinson too...in the guise of a personal artist talks about the pain felt by others too...