I felt a Cleaving in my Mind —
As if my Brain had split —
I tried to match it — Seam by Seam —
But could not make it fit.
The thought behind, I strove to join
Unto the thought before —
But Sequence ravelled out of Sound
Like Balls — upon a Floor.
I think Emily Dickenson had ADD inattentive type. Like many people who have it she was highly gifted.She has so many ideas running through her brain that they are hard to hold on to falling out of her grasp just like balls on the floor.
i believe the author in this poem is confused and trying to catch up with the times through thought.
now i can steal these concepts of which i would never grasp on my own and get myself outta this shithole of failure im in at school. tahnx a bunches !!!11
I think it’s more about her finding out something terrible, rather than physical pain. Something so horrible that she can’t comprehend it…thus, her mind “cleaving”.
Actually, the poem is about Emily experiencing physical pain – sounds like a migrane (her head splitting). Then, afterwards, she finds she cannot remember what her train of thought was, or piece thoughts together.
This poem is about how she can not connect one thought to another, “I tried to match it-Seam by Seam- But could not make them fit.”