Emily Dickinson

Many years ago, when my children were young and my mother-in-law was living with our family, I was experiencing a great deal of distress and would often lament to my mother the hardships that were my unwelcome companions. After one of my rants, my mother sent me an email with a short note and the lines from Emily Dickinson's poem #138 "To fight aloud, is very brave" (1):

To fight aloud, is very brave -

But gallanter, I know

Who charge within the bosom

The Cavalry of Wo -

Who win, and nations do not see -

Who fall - and none observe -

Whose dying eyes, no Country

Regards with patriot love -

We trust, in plumed procession

For such, the Angels go -

Rank after Rank, with even feet -

And Uniforms of snow.

Since that day, this poem has been a reminder to me that I am not alone in my suffering and that I am flanked by Heavenly messengers who are ready to attend to me. This "Cavalry" (4) and "plumed procession" (9) guard and protect me to the extent that I no longer need or desire to "fight aloud" (1); rather, I proceed with grace through the torments of my life, extending a hand of friendship, directing kindness, compassion, and understanding towards others.

As a child, my mother often used poetry to help soothe the aching heart, often quoting lines from one of the many poems written by Emily Dickinson (or Robert Frost). I remember one occasion when I found myself alone and insignificant; I must have been about 15 or 16 years old. My mother smiled at me, quoting "I'm Nobody! Who are you? / Are you - Nobody - too?" (1-2); to which I frowned, thinking that she was making fun of me. My mother continued: "Then there's a pair of us!" (3). At the time, I did not know that she was quoting the first three lines of Emily Dickinson's poem #260; I was, therefore, quite surprised when those lines popped out at me as I prepared to write about Emily Dickinson's poetry.

I'm Nobody! Who are you?

Are you - Nobody - too?

Then there's a pair of us!

Don't tell! they'd advertise - you know!

How dreary - to be - Somebody!

How public - like a Frog -

To tell one's name - the livelong June -

To an admiring Bog!

Emily Dickinson is an American poet, born in Amherst, MA. She received an education at Amherst Academy (1840 - 1847) and then spent a year at Mount Holyoke College (1847 - 1848). She was a prolific writer, producing over 1,700 poems. Depending on who you ask, the top ten of her poems may include:

I'm Nobody! Who are you?

I heard a Fly buzz- when I died.

Hope is the thing with feathers.

The heart asks Pleasure - first.

I felt a Funeral, in my Brain.

I died for Beauty - but was scarce.

Because I could not stop for Death.

My Life had stood - a Loaded Gun.

A narrow Fellow in the Grass.

This World is not Conclusion.

There is a theme to these poems that reflects the importance of solitude and the blessings and benefits that come when we can embrace the peace that is found there. The first beckons us to consider whether the battles we fight need to be noticed by others, or would they be better served with our peaceful silence. The second addresses the same idea of the attention to ourselves. We may think that others do not know us, being "nobody". The idea that we must be the talk of the town, known to the world, etc. would make us and those around us like a community of frogs in the summer swamps of Louisiana. Privacy is much more valuable than public notoriety. Both of these poems by Emily Dickinson cause the reader to contemplate their own existence and approach to conflict or painful isolation. Dickinson suggests that we proceed peacefully, enjoying our privacy and allowing the Heavens to defend us.