The difference between Despair - A poem by Emily Dickinson


Poets \| Bookstore \| Poem of the Day \| Top 40 \| Search \| Comments \| Privacy May 21st, 2013 - we have 234 poets, 8,025 poems and 56,671 comments.

Emily Dickinson - The difference between Despair

The difference between Despair
And Fear -- is like the One
Between the instant of a Wreck
And when the Wreck has been --

The Mind is smooth -- no Motion --
Contented as the Eye
Upon the Forehead of a Bust --
That knows -- it cannot see --

Share |

Added: Jan 9 2004 | Viewed: 11252 times |

Comments (3)

The difference between Despair - Comments and Information
Poet: Emily Dickinson Poem: 305. The difference between Despair Volume: Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson Year: Published/Written in 1955 Poem of the Day: Jul 11 2008 Comment 3 of 3, added on July 11th, 2010 at 5:21 PM. What despair is like. frumpo from United States Comment 2 of 3, added on January 10th, 2006 at 9:59 PM. Emily Dickinson continues to amaze me with her talent at shoving so much emotion and understanding and beauty into such a short poem. This poem perfectly describes the two emotions she's tackled...despair and fear, and how closely they are related. I wish she would have kept going with this one. It's subtle strength and insistence is overpowering, and demands that you pay all your attention to it, in case you miss something critical. Rereading and rereading this gives me a better sense of where she was coming from, but we will never ever be able to know exactly what she was feeling at the time of writing this. She is an amazing poet, and I strive to have just one moment of clarity in my writing that she seems to have in all of hers. Once again...WOW. [pretty.petty.heart] from United States Comment 1 of 3, added on January 10th, 2006 at 7:33 PM. This poem is so perfectly descriptive of almost every emotion a person can have. An emotion that is directed with the part of your mind that can not directly analize what they are seeing, yet actually feeling with the unseen eye. Jolene More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, The difference between Despair, has received 3 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own.

Poem Info
Poet: Emily Dickinson Poem: 305. The difference between Despair Volume: Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson Year: Published/Written in 1955 Last read: 2013-05-20 19:56:24 Poem of the Day: Jul 11 2008 Viewed 11252 times. Added Jan 9 2004.

Dickinson Info
Biography More Poems (1775 poems) Emily Dickinson books