I’ve been reading some interviews with poets lately, and it’s given me an itch to read more poetry. So yesterday I picked up one of my anthologies (Immortal Poems of the English Language) and opened to a random page. Happened to be Emily Dickinson. Poetry is meant to be read aloud, so I closed my door (don’t want the roommates to think I’ve gone nutty :P) and read this poem:
I never saw a moor, I never saw the sea; Yet know I how the heather looks, And what a wave must be. I never spoke with God, Nor visited in heaven; Yet certain am I of the spot As if the chart were given.
I was pretty sure I’d seen it before, but this time it really stuck with me. I read it again. And then, to my surprise, I found I’d already subconsciously memorized it. It’s a beautiful little poem and it’s already snuggled into a nice, warm spot in my heart. Go Emily. :)
[tags]Emily Dickinson[/tags]
Comments
I’ve loved that poem for years. I could have sworn that I heard it quoted in General Conference, and a little searching on the Church website confirmed that yes, Pres. Hinckley quoted it in his address “Testimony” in General Conference, April 1998. And you’re right, Dickinson’s poems have a way of snuggling in to one’s heart, ever so gently and ever so permanently. BTW, she seems to have been referenced in conference several times; I’ll have to check that out. And by the other way, yes I’m on LibraryThing, code name SirRoger, but I’m a bit of a newbie, and I still have a few books to add, tags to set up, etc.
I love love love it when General Authorities quote literature. :) Wasn’t it David O. McKay who called the great writers of the past our “minor prophets”?
Welcome to LibraryThing. :) (You seem to be doing just fine so far, actually.)