oct 29, 1885 - "Why should we hurry - Why indeed"
Description:
Why should we hurry - Why indeed
When every way we fly
we are molested equally
by immortality
no respite from the inference
that this which is begun
though where its labors lie
A bland uncertainty
Besets the sight
This mighty night
This poem near the end of Dickinson's life questions any need for hurry--and therefore for labor and progress--though it clings to a certain ambiguity. Regardless of hurry, we see immortality, but Dickinson's use of the word "molested" raises interesting questions about whether that immortality is so positive after all.
Added to timeline:
Emily Dickinson & Manufacturing in Amherst
Date:
