If I had to choose an actual favorite poet — which would be hard — but I might pick Emily Dickinson.
A handful of her poems are thoroughly familiar; they’re in all English Lit books everywhere as far as I know. Success is Counted Sweetest. There’s a Certain Slant of Light. Because I Could Not Stop for Death.
However, there are lots and lots more poems that aren’t in any English Lit book anywhere, as far as I know. Let’s look at some of those!
The director of the student services program I work for is an English guy. I mean into English literature, not a citizen of the UK. He made a joke about including poems in all our newsletter articles. Naturally, I’m happy to do that, no joke, and so here is a poem I found for a newsletter article about success not depending on luck. This is why I was thinking about Emily Dickinson this week. Then I realized I’d never seen this poem before and thought Hey! Let’s feature Emily Dickinson this week!
***
Luck is not chance
Luck is not chance—
It’s Toil—
Fortune’s expensive smile
Is earned—
The Father of the Mine
Is that old-fashioned Coin
We spurned—
***
***
Here’s a fun one, a very extended metaphor. Again, even though Dickinson may be my favorite poem, I’ve never seen this particular poem before.
One Need Not be a Chamber — to be Haunted
One need not be a chamber—to be haunted—
One need not be a House—
The Brain—has Corridors surpassing
Material Place—
Far safer, of a Midnight—meeting
External Ghost—
Than an Interior—confronting—
That cooler—Host—
Far safer, through an Abbey—gallop—
The Stones a’chase—
Than moonless—One’s A’self encounter—
In lonesome place—
Ourself—behind Ourself—Concealed—
Should startle—most—
Assassin—hid in Our Apartment—
Be Horror’s least—
The Prudent—carries a Revolver—
He bolts the Door,
O’erlooking a Superior Spectre
More near—
***
***
I know I’ve mentioned this one before; it’s one of my personal favorites because, I mean, it just is. Also, it’s an easy poem to memorize in its entirity.
To make a prairie (1755)
To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,
One clover, and a bee.
And revery.
The revery alone will do,
If bees are few.
Photo from Unsplash
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I’d seen To make a prairie, and the first 4 lines of Because I could not stop for Death before, but the rest are new to me.
I like her poems, but find the excessive use of m-dashes in the To be haunted poem rather off-putting, breaking the thread of the thought and the rythm of the words in my head. Maybe that is their intention.
I like these poetry Thursdays, introducing me to lots of interesting new poetry. Thank you for finding these and writing about them.
I’m glad you like these posts, Hanneke!
I started these poetry posts because I am just so busy right now, I wanted a regular feature would be fast. But I have to say, I do appreciate having a reason to seek out poetry I’m not familiar with.
Also, poetry is such a good way to build attentiveness to language, or maybe a way to appeal to readers who are already attentive to language, or maybe both. I do think from time to time of how Seanan McGuire said she wrote a sonnet a day when she was in high school.
Here’s a poem I really enjoy by Elizabeth Bishop; have you ever read it? I was doing a writing-poetry paper and this blasted poem led me to attempt my own sestina. It was not a success.
https://allpoetry.com/poem/8493577-Sestina-by-Elizabeth-Bishop
Yes, I have; I never saw it in a class, but the director of the student services program pointed to that as one of his favorite poems when we were talking about sestinas or villanelles or something. I agree that the automatic reaction to reading this poem is an immediate attempt to write a sestina. Which, no, probably won’t be a success, but is a neat thing to try.
Poetry is often so lovely in word-smithing.
Oh, what an astonishingly beautiful poem, Heather! Thank you!
Our high-school English teacher gave my husband and I for our wedding a beautiful book combining Emily Dickinson’s poems with art by Nancy Eckholm Burkert, titled Acts of Light. It still holds place of honour in my living room. I adore Dickinson. She has the best first lines! (Hope is the thing with feathers … There is no frigate like a book … The Brain is wider than the sky)(I’m not punctuating correctly because those are from memory)
A little one of hers I always enjoy:
Beauty crowds me till I die
Beauty mercy have on me
But if I expire today
Let it be in sight of thee—
Speaking of poets with unusual punctuation: I also adore e e cummings.