Yesterday’s post focused on letters written from Emily Dickinson to her third cousin, Perez Dickinson Cowan. Most of her correspondences to him centered on losses connected to his family (like the death of one of his daughters, the passing of a sister, etc.). Some of the letters included short poem.
Another letter with a poem, though, was composed by Cowan – but it was not sent to Emily Dickinson. No, this letter was address to Mabel Loomis Todd. Cowan obtained Todd’s name from the publishing firm of the first posthumous volume of Dickinson’s poetry, and he wrote to her in 1891 anticipating a second volume in the series.
“One of her poems on the sunset was given me…” he wrote, “and which I was sorry not to find in the first volume of her poems.” Cowan assumed the poem “may not have been brought to your attention,” so he sent her a copy – “with the hope that it may appear in the volume soon to be published.”
The complete letter is HERE, and the poem is “Blazing in gold, and quenching in purple.” Here is the poem as transcribed by Cowan:
Blazing in gold, and quenching in purple,
Leaping like leopards in the sky, –
At the feet of the old Horizon
Laying her spotted face to die, –
Bending low at the oriel window
Flooding the steeple, and tinting the barn, –
Kissing her bonnet to the meadow, –
And the Juggler of the Day is gone.
Another letter with a poem, though, was composed by Cowan – but it was not sent to Emily Dickinson. No, this letter was address to Mabel Loomis Todd. Cowan obtained Todd’s name from the publishing firm of the first posthumous volume of Dickinson’s poetry, and he wrote to her in 1891 anticipating a second volume in the series.
“One of her poems on the sunset was given me…” he wrote, “and which I was sorry not to find in the first volume of her poems.” Cowan assumed the poem “may not have been brought to your attention,” so he sent her a copy – “with the hope that it may appear in the volume soon to be published.”
The complete letter is HERE, and the poem is “Blazing in gold, and quenching in purple.” Here is the poem as transcribed by Cowan:
Blazing in gold, and quenching in purple,
Leaping like leopards in the sky, –
At the feet of the old Horizon
Laying her spotted face to die, –
Bending low at the oriel window
Flooding the steeple, and tinting the barn, –
Kissing her bonnet to the meadow, –
And the Juggler of the Day is gone.
There are variations on this poem though -- some now lost -- with slightly different structures, wording, and punctuation. Interestingly, some depict the sun as bending low at "the oriel window," as "the Otter's window," or as "the kitchen window."
FYI: An oriel window is a type of bay window that projects from the main wall of a building but does not reach the ground. Instead, it is supported by corbels, brackets, or similar cantilevers, typically appearing on upper floors.
Below left: The poem as it appeared in "The Drum Beat" in February 1864. Center: A draft of this poem by Dickinson which uses the word "kitchen" to modify "window." Right: The poem as it appeared in "The Springfield Republican."
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