Throwback Poetry: In Honor of Emily Dickinson’s 184th Birthday

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Wednesday (Dec. 10th) was Emily Dickinson’s 184th birthday.

Dickinson’s poetry was introduced to me when I was 12 years old. I wrote poems here and there, mostly about nature. My poems reminded my Dad of Emily Dickinson’s poems. He bought me a book of her poetry and we also went to the local library to check out a biography about her.

She quickly became one of my favorite poets. She also happens to be from my home turf of Massachusetts, living the majority of her life in Amherst, Mass., where I went to college. I was fascinated to learn what a gentle and introverted soul she was, more than likely dealing with what is now recognized as agoraphobia and depression.

Dickinson spent much of her life observing the world from her bedroom window and through letters from friends and family. I am constantly amazed at how perceptive and brilliant she was amid her limited resources. She gave birth to American poetry at the same time as Walt Whitman did, perhaps without knowledge of Whitman’s work.

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Emily inspired me to continue writing poetry, gaining inspiration from the trees, the birds, the ocean, and all of the beautiful things nature offers.

Here are a few of these poems. I was about 12-13 when I wrote them.

In This Lovely Forest

Today I danced with butterflies
talked to the river
visited flowers
flew up to the sky
running through clouds
and climbed a tree
in this lovely forest.

Birds
having a friendly conversation with me
They said:
“The world is beautiful,
and everything in the world is beautiful.”
And I agree with them.

Flowers Are Pretty (Haiku)

Flowers are pretty
These bloom only in the Spring
Soon it will be Fall

The Light of Day

The sun sets on my heart
Leaving it in darkness
I hear you and the sun rises
I see you
Your face is the light of day

Swallowed

The ocean takes a deep breath
and Exhales
with its marvelous strength
and it’s horrible breath
onto the rocks
who have drowned every high tide.
The water breathes me in
swallows me whole
and I am no more.

On another note, remember when there was only one known photo of Emily Dickinson (above, at age 16)? According to the official Emily Dickinson Facebook page, there is now another!

The following photo was released in 2012 by Amherst College Archives and Special Collections and the Emily Dickinson Museum, in Amherst, Mass. It shows a copy of a circa 1860 daguerreotype purported to show a 30-year-old Emily Dickinson (left), with her friend Kate Scott Turner.

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HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! (Okay, I’m a nerd.) The frumpy civil war era hairstyle is unfortunate, but I am so glad we now have evidence of a much older, mature, and beautiful Emily Dickinson. Yay!