Friday
Fall colors continue to explode in Appalachian Tennessee, leading me to this understated poem by Emily Dickinson. Given that Dickinson was famous for not following fashion—she wore only white dresses and was known locally as “the nun of Amherst”—one figures she must be deeply moved indeed by autumn foliage to “put a trinket on”:
The morns are meeker than they were –
The nuts are getting brown –
The berry’s cheek is plumper –
The rose is out of town.
The maple wears a gayer scarf –
The field a scarlet gown –
Lest I sh’d be old-fashioned
I’ll put a trinket on.
Actually, the view of Dickinson as a dainty old maid has long been exploded, at least when it comes to her internal life. After all, she wrote such poems as “My life stood like a loaded gun” and “Wild nights!” Still, externally she maintained an ascetic appearance, meaning that jewelry would have represented a passionate response.