Looking Beyond (9) – Towards Eternity

There is a beautiful, haunting poem by Emily Dickinson which ends like this: Since then – 'tis Centuries – and yetFeels shorter than the DayI first surmised the Horses' HeadsWere toward Eternity –'Because I Could Not Stop For Death', Emily Dickinson She imagines taking a journey. Death is in the carriage with her, and at …

Looking Beyond (7) – Connecting with Nature

I had already started to look beyond scepticism (see Looking Beyond - 6) through my own experiences. Having discovered the poetry of Thomas Hardy, William Wordsworth and Emily Dickinson, I discovered a feeling for nature. Whilst struggling with scepticism at university, I used to cycle out to the fields to find some peace, and I …

Inspiring Poems – “On this wondrous sea” (Emily Dickinson)

A number of Emily Dickinson's poems use the idea of a journey over the sea as a metaphor for the spiritual journey of the soul. This poem is a lovely example: "On this wondrous seaSailing silentlyHo! Pilot, ho!" The destination is mysterious but attractive: "...the shoreWhere no breakers roar -Where the storm is o'er" And …

Inspiring Poems: Despair and Hope with Emily Dickinson

She knew about both despair and hope. First, despair: It was not Death, for I stood up,And all the Dead, lie down She develops a sequence of images to describe how despair feels: As if my life were shaven,And fitted to a frame,And could not breathe without a key,And ’twas like Midnight, some ... But …

Inspiring Poems: “Because I could not stop for death” (Emily Dickinson)

  . This poem is original and daring: .  Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality.  .   . She makes abstractions tangible.  'Immortality' is there in the carriage with us, as is "Death" - and this is even …