~1~
If Life should walk Beside me
all Lovliness to See -
I'd take its Hand - invite it In -
my Heart's true Company.
If Death should walk Beside me
grave Lonliness to Bear -
it too, would be Welcome -
my Heart's burden Gladly share.
For now, Content, I walk Alone
midst trees of Evergreen -
my Rhymes and Songs to Guide me
toward Pathways yet Unseen.
Emily Dickinson has always fascinated me, from the time I was a child and first read "I'm Nobody! Who are you? Are you - Nobody - too?" I was, and still am, envious of her complete self-containment, her single minded dedication to her poetry. Her reclusive life seemed romantic and glamorous to me, a young girl growing up in a midwestern suburb, cherishing her own dreams of "the writer's life," and I almost feel as if I'm committing an act of sacrilege, making this faint attempt to capture the rhythm and grace of her voice.
For more poems in the voice of another, go here