poems from dickinson to gertrude vanderbilt


Dying! To be afraid of thee
One must to thine Artillery
Have left exposed a Friend -
Than thine old Arrow is a Shot
Delivered straighter to the Heart
The leaving Love behind.

Not for itself, the Dust is shy,
But, enemy, Beloved be
Thy Batteries divorce.
Fight sternly in a Dying eye
Two Armies, Love and Certainty
And Love and the Reverse.


thomas johnson's note on poem 831 | index to dickinson/vanderbilt poems

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Commentary copyright 1998 by Martha Nell Smith, all rights reserved
Maintained by Lara Vetter <lv26@umail.umd.edu>
Last updated on February 14, 2000