Not that We did, shall be the test
When Act and Will are done
But what Our Lord infers We would
Had We diviner been —
Not that We did, shall be the test
Analysis, meaning and summary of Emily Dickinson's poem Not that We did, shall be the test
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Getting past the unusual syntax is the first task in reading much of Dickinson. I this poem she states a simple truth that it is not that we acted according to our powers of volition, but whether we acted in a “righteous” manner, is how our Lord (lord) will judge how our actions met the test of the divine that we are capable of within ourselves.