In yesterday’s post, I shared info about the date, 9/16/25, a “triple perfect square” date – and then I looked into how many times Dickinson used the word “square” in her poetry. Two times, to be exact; once in “Grief is a mouse,” and once in “I could die to know.” In neither poem did she use “square” in a mathematical sense of a squared number; instead, she used it more in terms of a “public square” – at least that is the case with “Grief is a mouse.” That poem includes the line, “Burn Him in the Public square.”
 | In “I could die to know,” the word seems to suggest a “public square,” but I think that it is open to other interpretations as well, and the online Dickinson Lexicon appears to support this notion.  |
I checked the Lexicon to see how Dickinson used the word “square” in her writings, and it offered two definitions:
Of course, that second definition was used in “Grief is a mouse.” Dickinson literally wrote “public square” in that poem. Does that mean the other definition was used in “I could die to know”? Is the term suggesting “a tool used for measurement”?
- A tool used for measurement.
- Open space or area in a town or city.
Of course, that second definition was used in “Grief is a mouse.” Dickinson literally wrote “public square” in that poem. Does that mean the other definition was used in “I could die to know”? Is the term suggesting “a tool used for measurement”?
 | Interestingly, the lexicon also provides a definition for Dickinson’s use of “squarely.” The entry states, “See ‘square’; Directly; honestly; in a straightforward manner.” Oddly enough, though, Dickinson never used the word “squarely” in any of her poems. Only “square” – in the two poems I’ve already mentioned. |
In the second poem, “I could die to know,” in the line “To the very Square – His foot is passing,” does Dickinson mean that, as she dreams from her bed, this unseen lover is walking past the public square as cart loads of coal are rattling and rolling past? Does the line also imply that as she dozes in bed when the town comes to life as “Morning's bold face stares in the window,” her lover passes on foot – and everything in life is as it should be, “To the very Square,” calculated and measured precisely?
I gotta say, that capital “H” with him adds to the mystery. Is she talking about “him,” or is she talking about “HIM”? LOL – this made me think of lyrics from Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way”: “It doesn’t matter if you love him / Or capital ‘H-I-M” – and “God makes no mistakes.”
Okay, so let me wax profoundly a bit – or certainly a bit left of kilter: If the “he” in the poem is “HE” – and not merely “he” – then check out that first line again: “I could die – to know.” Hmm…the speaker will not know if this passer-by even returns her feelings – until she dies? And…does this passer-by even exist? Or is HE merely a part of her dream?
How is that for a measured response? Is it even on the square?
I gotta say, that capital “H” with him adds to the mystery. Is she talking about “him,” or is she talking about “HIM”? LOL – this made me think of lyrics from Lady Gaga’s song “Born This Way”: “It doesn’t matter if you love him / Or capital ‘H-I-M” – and “God makes no mistakes.”
Okay, so let me wax profoundly a bit – or certainly a bit left of kilter: If the “he” in the poem is “HE” – and not merely “he” – then check out that first line again: “I could die – to know.” Hmm…the speaker will not know if this passer-by even returns her feelings – until she dies? And…does this passer-by even exist? Or is HE merely a part of her dream?
How is that for a measured response? Is it even on the square?
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