Because I could not stop for Death –
He kindly stopped for me –
The Carriage held but just Ourselves –
And Immortality.
We slowly drove – He knew no haste
And I had put away
My labor and my leisure too,
For His Civility –
We passed the School, where Children strove
At Recess – in the Ring –
We passed the Fields of Gazing Grain –
We passed the Setting Sun –
Or rather – He passed Us –
The Dews drew quivering and Chill –
For only Gossamer, my Gown –
My Tippet – only Tulle –
We paused before a House that seemed
A Swelling of the Ground –
The Roof was scarcely visible –
The Cornice – in the Ground –
Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yet
Feels shorter than the Day
I first surmised the Horses' Heads
Were toward Eternity –
Almost as if she deemed life "immortal" long ago. Questioning the longevity and brevity and surpassing them with what she wants from life. The devil and god character becoming one. An immortal duo of balance...life lived in herself and life, just the two of them. The world goes round, she passes children and houses and horses and, yet, in her gossamer gown, understands more. I find interesting the separation between the natural elements of this poem (grain, sun, horse) and the more human elements (carriage, children, leisure, labor). All are blended within and throughout, does she make distinction between human and nature or all of these things, or does the world balance immortality? Or just an idea to play with knowing death will come to carry her away.
ReplyDeleteI cannot get this poem. We read it last week at this conference I was at. I liked it, but there was something death passing her that stuck with me. Now it reads different. I like your comments, but the poem doesn't speak to me.
ReplyDeleteLast part speaks to me. What a crazy perception of time. It seems like the narrator wants to die, but cannot and time feels eternal. That day was eternal