If recollecting were forgetting,
Then I remember not.
And if forgetting, recollecting,
How near I had forgot.
And if to miss, were merry,
And to mourn, were gay,
How very blithe the fingers
That gathered this, Today!
If recollecting were forgetting,
Analysis, meaning and summary of Emily Dickinson's poem If recollecting were forgetting,
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If recollecting are forgetting,
Then I remember not.
And if forgetting, recollecting,
How near I shall forgot.
And if to miss, were merry,
And to mourn, were gay,
How very blithe the fingers
That gatheres this, Today!
putting it in present makes everything different
Emily here talks about the loss of a beloved one she mourns his death/loss but she understands sadness cant complement happiness but somewhere she wishes if she could be happy with the depressing life of hers. wish I could be too
In this poem it seems that as much as Emily would like to forget the loss of a loved one instead of continually recalling the event which grieves her so, she can not. She has received news of the death of one who was close and she wishes that the mourning process could be a happy one and realizes that it is quite the opposite.