I found two poems about fall by Emily Dickinson. I like one better than the other and it's below. I'm fascinated by the details of her life. I've posted pieces of her work and life earlier on our blog, and I'm including more information in this post. But, first, this lovely poem about autumn.
Autumn
by Emily Dickinson
The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I'll put a trinket on.
Emily wrote approximately 1,800 poems. She titled less than ten of her poems which is amazing. I say this as someone who loves to title things or thinks writing and situations need titles.
“Emily Dickinson titled fewer than 10 of her almost 1800 poems. Her poems are now generally known by their first lines or by the numbers assigned to them by posthumous editors.”
from Major Characteristics of Dickinson's Poetry and the Emily Dickinson Museum
Only a small number of her poems were published in her lifetime anonymously in newspapers. They were heavily edited to fit the poetry conventions at the time. We don't know why she didn't include her name and will never truly know. We can speculate.
“As with so many questions about Emily Dickinson, the answer is unknown. Her comments about publication tend to be negative (“Publication is the auction of the mind”), yet she voiced no severe objections to the inclusion of a few of her poems in newspapers. Given Dickinson’s reclusive nature, the idea of becoming famous may have been distasteful.”
FAQs from the Emily Dickinson Museum
She was so prolific too. There are more than one manuscript versions of her poems. Her imagination is impressive for someone so reclusive in her later years. Not being out in the world. For more details of her life and work, I highly recommend visiting the museum site. They offer indepth research that you won't regret reading if you want to delve further into her world. I also wrote a more comprehensive piece last year you might like: A Short Bio on Emily Dickinson and the Poem that Captured me. She's been gone since the late 19th century yet still remains a force in poetry and a mystery.
You might also enjoy our other posts:
Emily Dickinson Paints her Portrait
Emily Dickinson Poem: Will there really be a Morning?
Wild Nights – Wild Nights by Emily Dickinson
