letters from dickinson to mary and eben loomis

2 January 1885


Dear friends -

I thought as I saw the exultant Face and the uplifted Letter,

Take all away from me, but leave me Ecstasy,
And I am richer then than all my Fellow Men-
Ill it becometh me to dwell so wealthily
When at my very Door are those possessing more,
In abject poverty -

And what is Ecstasy but Affection and what is Affection but the Germ of the little Note?

A Letter is a joy of Earth -

It is denied the God -

Emily,
with Love.

thomas johnson's note on letter 960 | index to dickinson/loomis letters

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Commentary copyright 1998 by Martha Nell Smith, all rights reserved
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Last updated on April 28, 2000