Poem Reviews: Under the Light, yet under by: Emily Dickinson

 

Under the Light, yet under,

Under the Grass and the Dirt,

Under the Beetle's Cellar

Under the Clover's Root,

Further than Arm could stretch

Were it Giant long,

Further than Sushine could

Were the Day Year long,

Over the Light, yet over,

Over the Arc of the Bird -

Over the Comet's chimney -

Over the Cubit's Head,

Further than Guess can gallop

Further than Riddle ride -

Oh for a Disc to the Distance

Between Ourselves and the Dead!

Comment:

The last line of the first stanza is for me enigmatic, what is there 'under the Clover's Root?'

That is linked with 'Under the Grass and the Dirt?'

The enigma is to think that even the plant they feed on dirt that is a not clean, or better no pure, even better, no innocent.

In the third stanza the "Comet's chimney" refers to the comet visible from the earth designated C / 1823 as saying that a comet has entered the house via the chimney, a piece of steaming ice.

 

The last stanza like the first one, makes me think, on  what there is between us earthlings and death, as if to say that even for the inhabitants of another planet the question arises why is there death? why we are condemned to die? In my opinion this mean that our soul is pure, but not our body that's dirty for having lived on the planet earth.