SCROLL DOWN FOR PART 2, ADDED ON 3/13; PART 3 ADDED ON 3/14
PART 1:
A few days ago I published a post (HERE) related to the Timothee Chalomet’s comments about opera and ballet, and it included a version of Dickinson’s poem “A feather from the Whippowil” – one version of the poem uses the word “Opera,” another replaces that word with “Stanzas."
On that very day, I subbed in a 6th grade English/Language Arts classroom, and the teacher’s library of books in the classroom included a collection of poems entitled “The Night of the Whippoorwill.” I got excited thinking that certainly Dickinson’s poem would be included! Nope, that was not to be the case.
A few days ago I published a post (HERE) related to the Timothee Chalomet’s comments about opera and ballet, and it included a version of Dickinson’s poem “A feather from the Whippowil” – one version of the poem uses the word “Opera,” another replaces that word with “Stanzas."
On that very day, I subbed in a 6th grade English/Language Arts classroom, and the teacher’s library of books in the classroom included a collection of poems entitled “The Night of the Whippoorwill.” I got excited thinking that certainly Dickinson’s poem would be included! Nope, that was not to be the case.
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| Then, on the opposite wall, I spied a small (but thick) book called “1001 Meditations.” “Hmm,” I thought, “surely there is some Dickinson in there” – and yes, yes, yes! I checked the index and there were three entries for Emily Dickinson. Take a look at what the book includes, and then tomorrow I’ll follow up with additional comments. For now, evaluate, cogitate, percolate and meditate on these three entries. |  |
Meditation 656: Door of the soul: “The Soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.”
Meditation 872: A new road: The poet Emily Dickinson described dying a “wild night and a new road.” If we thought we would live forever, we would feel trapped in our lives. The end is the ultimate relaxation: imagine yourself in your last moments letting go with a prayer of thanks for the life that was granted to you.
Meditation 877: A bird of spirit: “The spirit looks upon the dust / That fastened it so long / With indignation / As a Bird Defrauded of its song.”
Meditation 872: A new road: The poet Emily Dickinson described dying a “wild night and a new road.” If we thought we would live forever, we would feel trapped in our lives. The end is the ultimate relaxation: imagine yourself in your last moments letting go with a prayer of thanks for the life that was granted to you.
Meditation 877: A bird of spirit: “The spirit looks upon the dust / That fastened it so long / With indignation / As a Bird Defrauded of its song.”
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PART 2
Yesterday I shared three entries from a book called “1001 Meditations,” all quotes from Emily Dickinson, and I asked you, dear reader, to evaluate, cogitate, percolate and meditate on said lines. What did you think? One was certainly appropriate; one was a bit curious; and one – well, that final one was beyond curious and completely confusing.
Forthwith, my explication of each meditation:
The first, Meditation 656, was in a section of the book focusing on “Happiness,” in a subsection on “Gratitude”:
Door of the soul: “The Soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.”
Forthwith, my explication of each meditation:
The first, Meditation 656, was in a section of the book focusing on “Happiness,” in a subsection on “Gratitude”:
Door of the soul: “The Soul should always stand ajar, ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.”
| Well, this quote is certainly positive and uplifting – though maybe a bit out of place in a section on “Gratitude” and better suited to thoughts on hope and expectancy. However, I’m not sure Dickinson actually wrote this line. There is a poem that begins “The Soul should always stand ajar,” but the work does not include the phrase “ready to welcome the ecstatic experience.” Dickinson did write lines about the incredible force of consciousness and the profound nature of existence – like “How good – to be alive! / How infinite – to be” and “That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet” – but I believe the Meditation offered here is a conglomerate of some of her contemplations. |  |
UPDATE ON 3/22/26: I found this site, "The Soul Ajar," which addresses this quote -- HERE.
The second, Meditation 872, was in a section of the book on “Mortality”:
A new road: The poet Emily Dickinson described dying a “wild night and a new road.” If we thought we would live forever, we would feel trapped in our lives. The end is the ultimate relaxation: imagine yourself in your last moments letting go with a prayer of thanks for the life that was granted to you.
In this case, Dickinson did, in fact, compare dying to a “wild night and a new road” in a letter to a cousin (a second cousin, I believe – I’m going to have to draw myself a chart to figure this out), Perez Dickinson Cowan. In the letter Dickinson wrote this:
“It grieves me that you speak of Death with so much expectation. I know there is no pang like that for those we love, nor any leisure like the one they leave so closed behind them, but Dying is a wild Night and a new Road.”
However, I found the meditation with Dickinson’s metaphoric contemplation to be a bit odd. I certainly see value in appreciating “the life that was granted you” (aligned with the poet’s outlook stated above, “How good – to be alive!”), but I thought it weird to combine with a feeling of being “trapped” in an everlasting life and, instead, anticipating “the ultimate relaxation.”
As for the third meditation, I’ll post my comments tomorrow.
A new road: The poet Emily Dickinson described dying a “wild night and a new road.” If we thought we would live forever, we would feel trapped in our lives. The end is the ultimate relaxation: imagine yourself in your last moments letting go with a prayer of thanks for the life that was granted to you.
In this case, Dickinson did, in fact, compare dying to a “wild night and a new road” in a letter to a cousin (a second cousin, I believe – I’m going to have to draw myself a chart to figure this out), Perez Dickinson Cowan. In the letter Dickinson wrote this:
“It grieves me that you speak of Death with so much expectation. I know there is no pang like that for those we love, nor any leisure like the one they leave so closed behind them, but Dying is a wild Night and a new Road.”
However, I found the meditation with Dickinson’s metaphoric contemplation to be a bit odd. I certainly see value in appreciating “the life that was granted you” (aligned with the poet’s outlook stated above, “How good – to be alive!”), but I thought it weird to combine with a feeling of being “trapped” in an everlasting life and, instead, anticipating “the ultimate relaxation.”
As for the third meditation, I’ll post my comments tomorrow.
PART 3:
Recently I posted three “meditations” based on quotes from Emily Dickinson from the book “1001 Meditations.” Yesterday I discussed the first two of the set – so “two down, one to go.” However, the third meditation is the most curious of the trio – but not for what was said; no, this meditation is odd for what was not said.
The third quotation is meditation number 877 in the book, and it comes from a section entitled “Time Passing – Facing Mortality”; it reads as follows:
A bird of spirit: “The spirit looks upon the dust / That fastened it so long / With indignation / As a Bird Defrauded of its song.”
Hmm. That just doesn’t sound all that uplifting to me. The entry does begin with a descriptor in bold, “a bird of spirit,” so that sounds promising; however, that is followed with a quote taken from Dickinson which begins with “the spirit looks upon the dust.”
The spirit of the bird – is that what is looking upon the dust? Is this a dead bird – and Dickinson is talking about its spirit? The quote continues, “That fastened it so long” – is the antecedent of the pronoun “it,” the bird? And if so – why was the bird fastened to the dust? The quote continues, “With indignation” – again, the bird? The bird’s spirit? Who or what is indignant? The quote concludes, “As a Bird Defrauded of its song” – is this the same bird or a different bird? Was the original “bird of spirit” both fastened to the dust AND “defrauded” of its song? Again, none of this sounds uplifting, and to be honest, it’s more than somewhat confusing.
What is going on here? Why did the editor of “1001 Meditations” select this quote to include in a book promising how one could “Discover Peace of Mind.”
I explored the quote by Dickinson to discover its context, and I could not believe what I found. The lines come from her poem “As from the earth the light Balloon.” Take a look at the poem below.
The third quotation is meditation number 877 in the book, and it comes from a section entitled “Time Passing – Facing Mortality”; it reads as follows:
A bird of spirit: “The spirit looks upon the dust / That fastened it so long / With indignation / As a Bird Defrauded of its song.”
Hmm. That just doesn’t sound all that uplifting to me. The entry does begin with a descriptor in bold, “a bird of spirit,” so that sounds promising; however, that is followed with a quote taken from Dickinson which begins with “the spirit looks upon the dust.”
The spirit of the bird – is that what is looking upon the dust? Is this a dead bird – and Dickinson is talking about its spirit? The quote continues, “That fastened it so long” – is the antecedent of the pronoun “it,” the bird? And if so – why was the bird fastened to the dust? The quote continues, “With indignation” – again, the bird? The bird’s spirit? Who or what is indignant? The quote concludes, “As a Bird Defrauded of its song” – is this the same bird or a different bird? Was the original “bird of spirit” both fastened to the dust AND “defrauded” of its song? Again, none of this sounds uplifting, and to be honest, it’s more than somewhat confusing.
What is going on here? Why did the editor of “1001 Meditations” select this quote to include in a book promising how one could “Discover Peace of Mind.”
I explored the quote by Dickinson to discover its context, and I could not believe what I found. The lines come from her poem “As from the earth the light Balloon.” Take a look at the poem below.
 | Suddenly the meditation makes sense! It’s not a “bird of spirit” we’re talking about – it’s a BALLOON! The balloon asks “nothing but release,” and now ascending unto “Its soaring Residence,” the BALLOON looks upon the dust. The BALLOON was fastened too long. The BALLOON was like a bird defrauded of its song. It seems to me that the meditation book missed the most important part of the poem – the BALLOON – and the editor plopped the quote from the second half of the poem on the page completely out of context. |
I LOVE the poem. The meditation? Well…my spirit looked upon it – that confused it so long – with indignation – as a poem defrauded of its meaning.
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