20 June 2010

Emily Dickinson,"I heard a Fly buzz - when I died"

I heard a Fly buzz - when I died-
The stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air-
Between the Heaves of Storm

The Eyes around - had wrung them dry-
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset - when the King
Be witnessed - in the Room

I willed my keepsakes - Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable - and then it was
There interposed a Fly-

With Blue - uncertain stumbling Buzz-
Between the light - and me -
And then the Windows failed - and then
I could not see to see-

---

one of the first emily dickinson poems i ever read. when i was a kid i'd creep into my mother's room and look at her books that rested on the built-in desk in her room. there was a spanish-english dictionary, the qu'ran and the bible, and one of those small, thick books on prescription pills, among other things, but also an old book of emily dickinson poetry. i'd flip to a random page, read it, close and replace the book on the shelf, and go about my day. i did this at least once a week until i finally took the book and placed it on my own bookshelf, where it's been ever since. sorry mom.

also, i had to transcribe that from the aforementioned collection, because for some reason most dickinson poems found online are products of her family's attempt to "improve" her style. reading the poem without all of those dashes and unnecessary capitalization is weird to me.

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