~~~POEM-A-DAY~~~Emily Dickinson "Could live - did live -"

Could live - did live -

Could live — did live —
Could die — did die —
Could smile upon the whole
Through faith in one he met not,
To introduce his soul.

Could go from scene familiar
To an untraversed spot —
Could contemplate the journey
With unpuzzled heart —

Such trust had one among us,
Among us not today —
We who saw the launching
Never sailed the Bay!

by Emily Dickinson http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Could_live_%E2%80%94_did_live_%E2%80%94

Hello again dear friends of Miss Emily Dickinson! It has been awhile, I apologize for lack of lustre for being less than a shining and stellar example of adhesiveness to the Poem-A-Day functionary, however, excuses...excuses!

Excuses begone! Now we are in for a treat this week! I am finding this new poem (well new in a relative sense, new to me!) called "Could live - did live" similar in some ways to a poem I just wrote for Magpie#37 called "Double or Nothing", and this is just not a flagrant attempt at self-promotion either! (although it probably is...). Yes, Miss Emily and me seem to be caught in the same paradoxical literary technique aka "bug" called "life".

What I must wonder about, besides the paradoxical quandry of up/down, left/right, yes/no, you know, that whole yin-yang chestnut is the fact that Ms Emily is alluding to the Christ/Father/Husband/Finance/Boyfriend/aka Saviour of some sort in this work. Definitely I would immediately think this is all about a saving father figure, like Christ.

Through faith in one he met not,
To introduce his soul.

The reference to "faith" is paramount in this poem being quixotically compared and contrasted to Christ. Also referencing "his" and "he" places the oness on Christ.

Emily is, in her own unique manner of expression, and in a round-about way stating that Christ

"Could live - did live"

and

"Could die - did die"

"Could smile upon the whole"

Emily, I believe, is contemplating the idea that Christ lived and lives now within the Christian, yet she is questioning although he is alive now and "could go" and "could contemplate" the "familiar" or the "untraversed spot" and now (after Christ's death and resurrection) "Could contemplate the journey" his new life as the resurrected saviour "with unpuzzled heart" meaning that Christ no longer questions God the Father as to "Why have you abandoned me" since Christ and the world are now saved. However, Emily questions maybe why she still does not feel 100% saved even though Christ does feel his salvation. Maybe Emily is waiting in lieu for the end of the world to catch up with the redemption and ransom?

Such trust had one among us,
Among us not today —


Emily feels the "trust" of Christ in salvation for all is "among us not today". In other words, no one has true faith of salvation accept for the risen Christ.

We who saw the launching
Never sailed the Bay!

Emily's reference to the Amherst MA bay, or "far shore" again! So "we who saw the launching" is references all of us who know the Bible facts of Christ death and resurrection" but have as yet "never sailed the Bay" reference of Emily's idiom to death and rebirth in Christ only to happen after death and judgement.

A very Christian-themed poem today! Hope you enjoyed it!

Chiccoreal's Expostulates on "Could live - did live"

Would live - would live

Would die - would die

one day anyway
maybe
maybe not
sooner than later
the lated always
preferrable
open up the floodgates!
let the love flow through
get us all wet with dew
now is the time!
to fill up the potsherds
no use to wait til then
now is the time!
let it all in
why wait in lieu?
to taste that taste
bitter flavour
no favour giv'n
the taint of death
the original sin
singeing not singing
on putrified lips
Shout it out loud
Have faith in one's
convictions
Jean Val Jean
release the hounds!
Christ can be here today
held close to heart
Not away ~ leagues across the Bay!
and clear to Midland on a good day
Unless you want to visit
sooner than later?
I think not!

jj