酷我-北美枫

[christine]

I never lost as much but twice by Emily Dickinson

I never lost as much but twice,
And that was in the sod;
Twice have I stood a beggar
Before the door of God!

Angels, twice descending,
Reimbursed my store.
Burglar, banker, father,
I am poor once more!


Personal Reflection:

In those years of her early adulthood, Emily Dickinson had trained herself to endure the pain of loss, especially of the loss of the loved ones. She learned to do so mainly by writing poetry. Sharpening and deepening the use of language, she wrote numerous poems dealing chiefly with the pain of loss; I never lost as much but twice is no exception.

Through reference to "sod" and "the door of God," the first stanza suggests that death is responsible for the two losses. By the phrase "as much," it also implies that there is another loss, the third loss, to be recorded. Judging from the first two lines of the second stanza, we know that angels, after "twice descending," help Dickinson encounter her loss ("Reimbursed my store" which means the compensation of having new generations to love).

At the beginning of the poem, Dickinson sounds like Job in the Old Testament who responded to shocking loss and suffering with worshipful resignation. As she comes to question the divine attributes of God by using a pair of startling metaphors, a "Burglar" who steals away her loved ones, and a "banker" who keeps the give-and-take accounts of life and death, she is helped by angels, the messengers of God, and changes her negative perceptions of God to the positive one: a "father," as described in the New Testament, who is a caring and protective figure in her life. She concludes her poem with her humble confession: "I am poor once more" in spirit.

[[christine]]

I never lost as much but twice by Emily Dickinson

I never lost as much but twice,
And that was in the sod;
Twice have I stood a beggar
Before the door of God!

Angels, twice descending,
Reimbursed my store.
Burglar, banker, father,
I am poor once more!


Personal Reflection:

In those years of her early adulthood, Emily Dickinson had trained herself to endure the pain of loss, especially of the loss of the loved ones. She learned to do so mainly by writing poetry. Sharpening and deepening the use of language, she wrote numerous poems dealing chiefly with the pain of loss; I never lost as much but twice is no exception.

Through reference to "sod" and "the door of God," the first stanza suggests that death is responsible for the two losses. By the phrase "as much," it also implies that there is another loss, the third loss, to be recorded. Judging from the first two lines of the second stanza, we know that angels, after "twice descending," help Dickinson encounter her loss ("Reimbursed my store" which means the compensation of having new generations to love).

At the beginning of the poem, Dickinson sounds like Job in the Old Testament who responded to shocking loss and suffering with worshipful resignation. As she comes to question the divine attributes of God by using a pair of startling metaphors, a "Burglar" who steals away her loved ones, and a "banker" who keeps the give-and-take accounts of life and death, she is helped by angels, the messengers of God, and changes her negative perceptions of God to the positive one: a "father," as described in the New Testament, who is a caring and protective figure in her life. She concludes her poem with her humble confession: "I am poor once more" in spirit.

[christine]

The Book of Job has long been praised as a masterpiece of Western literature. Job is one of five books in the Bible commonly referred to as "The Books Of Poetry". Called such because it is written in poetic style in contrast to the narrative style of most other books in the Bible, it is also often referred to as "Wisdom Literature". There are numerous exegeses of the Book of Job, classic attempts to reconcile the co-existence of evil and God and to address the problem of human suffering.

[[christine]]

The Book of Job has long been praised as a masterpiece of Western literature. Job is one of five books in the Bible commonly referred to as "The Books Of Poetry". Called such because it is written in poetic style in contrast to the narrative style of most other books in the Bible, it is also often referred to as "Wisdom Literature". There are numerous exegeses of the Book of Job, classic attempts to reconcile the co-existence of evil and God and to address the problem of human suffering.

[ericcoliu]

[[ericcoliu]]

[anna]

Great review.

Thanks.

Anna
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

《爱的灯塔-星子安娜双语诗选》
<Nightlights> <Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac> ...

http://annapoetry.com

[[星子安娜]]

Great review.

Thanks.

Anna
_________________
---------------------

Anna Yin

《爱的灯塔-星子安娜双语诗选》
<Nightlights> <Seven Nights with the Chinese Zodiac> ...

http://annapoetry.com

[clair]

[[clair]]

[fanfan]

[[FFFFFF]]

[christine]

[[christine]]

[Lake]

I like the first line

I never lost as much but twice

She used 'twice' in another poem I just read:

My life closed twice before its close;
It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me,

So huge, so hopeless to conceive,
As these that twice befell.
Parting is all we know of heaven,
And all we need of hell.

[[Lake]]

I like the first line

I never lost as much but twice

She used 'twice' in another poem I just read:

My life closed twice before its close;
It yet remains to see
If Immortality unveil
A third event to me,

So huge, so hopeless to conceive,
As these that twice befell.
Parting is all we know of heaven,
And all we need of hell.

[fanfan]

[[FAFAFA]]