I dwell in Possibility —
A fairer House than Prose —
More numerous of Windows —
Superior — for Doors —
Of Chambers as the Cedars —
Impregnable of Eye —
And for an Everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky —
Of Visitors — the fairest —
For Occupation — This —
The spreading wide of narrow Hands
To gather Paradise —
Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by Emily Dickinson better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.
I am tryig to put this poem into Chinese.I found the word “possibility” is rather difficut to translate.Ofcouse the imagination of the writer is nice. Layman 雷
i hate this poem its boring
It might be of interest to some readers and commenters to know that, as was the fashion of period, Ms. Dickinson was what her contemporaries referred to as an “opium eater.” I believe this explains, in large part, her isolatory nature and, also, the spiritual content in much of her work. Taking opiates is often a quest for the euphoria and bliss promised by so many religions and their practitioners. Opium does produce feelings of euphoria e.g. to gather paradise, etc.
if you actually believe that emily dickinson was a recluse, simply because that’s the only thing you’ve heard about her, you need to crack a book cuz that is straight ignorant,
Why do you think she chose such a dark word as “gambrels?”
I love this poem. It has so many applications — spiritual, mental, physical, etc. Instead of dwelling on the impossible we should put ourselves in a place where the impossible is very much a possibility. Even if the impossible is not reached we will go further than we could have ever imagined possible.
possibility is a term to describe emily’s unlimited possibilty in her house, this was self inflicted confinement adn not the result of opression.
this poem is one of my favorites of emily’s. i love all of her work, but do have my favorites. I love her writing, to me it is really inspiring.
i really like this poem it is a great poem i don’t know why nobody took the time to leave a very nice comment i am glad that i was the first one to be able to post it up here on the web i would have never have read it if it weren’t for this progect i am doing on emily. she sounds like a very nice lady who has a very nice life although she isn’t here anymore i just want to say that you wrote very nice poems and i wish you were still here to write more of the poems that you write.