Emily Dickinson
Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church
by Emily Dickinson
Some keep the Sabbath going to church —
I keep it, staying at Home —
With a Bobolink for a Chorister —
And an Orchard, for a Dome —
Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice —
I just wear my Wings —
And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,
Our little Sexton — sings.
God preaches, a noted Clergyman —
And the sermon is never long,
So instead of getting to Heaven, at last —
I’m going, all along.
-Public Domain.
There is both beauty and an urgency in Emily Dickinson’s work. She was not famous in her lifetime. She published maybe 15 poems. Most of them were given away in letters and gifts. To be so wise, so good at what one does and to be a woman in those difficult times when women had practically no literary value, she transcended her time and still speaks to many today. -KHF
