Three Vows: Emily Dickinson Poem by Patti Masterman

Poverty

You were never poor in spirit;
Your head held room for worlds,
And birth and death were endless-
And all played out in words.

Nor poor in wry humility-
Though you liked to mix the pot-
But in all things most men commend,
You held a miserable lot.

One white dress worth your dowry,
At six o'clock you went,
And passed toward eternities,
Before, had only hints..

Chastity

You were not long for flowers,
You were not long for earth;
The words you touched so lightly
Left message, of your worth.

Your verses sewed in bundles-
Chaste-belting, of a life-
Who'd have known such eloquence
Dwelled within the quiet?

Obedience

There are those who mind the wind,
And those who mind their doors,
And those who mind society;
The mindless, who are scores.

The one who minds his secrets,
And those who mind their minds-
But she who bares her soul, alone
Is difficult, to find.

And though her message whisper;
Or take you by the hand,
Just look and see, at end of time-
Her obedience- the span-