Happy Birthday, Emily Dickinson!

Happy birthday, Emily! The poet was born on this day, December 10, in 1830.

I have recently gotten into the comedy/drama about Emily Dickinson, Dickinson, on Apple TV. It starts with Emily as a teenager, but showcases her life with modern vernacular. It’s an interesting and humorous take on an eccentric writer who had a penchant for white dresses, solitude, and writing poems on wrapping paper.

I was introduced to Emily Dickinson by way of 10th-grade English class. Her poem If You Were Coming in the Fall grabbed me, and never let go. I can still recite it from memory if you woke me up at 3am, and asked me to.

I especially like Emily’s “dry rhyme.” That’s rhyming that isn’t as sing-song as traditional rhyme. For example, many poets pair words such as, “day/way, lay/say, right/sight.” Ms. Dickinson would pair words together, like “day/why, bother/utter, green/seem.” You get the idea.

Here it is:

If You Were Coming in the Fall

By Emily Dickinson

If you were coming in the fall, I’d brush the summer by With half a smile and half a spurn, As housewives do a fly.If I could see you in a year, I’d wind the months in balls, And put them each in separate drawers, Until their time befalls. If only centuries delayed, I’d count them on my hand, Subtracting till my fingers dropped Into Van Diemens land. If certain, when this life was out, That yours and mine should be, I’d toss it yonder like a rind, And taste eternity. But now, all ignorant of the length Of time’s uncertain wing, It goads me, like the goblin bee, That will not state its sting.

I’m pleased to announce the release of my 8th book, Skoll’s Diary.

Africans and African Americans left Earth in 1900, and went to another planet in The Milky Way to escape mistreatment…

It’s now the year 3005 on that terraformed planet. We get a peek into the life of a bright and sensitive teenaged boy, Skoll, through his journal. He loves his world, but is curious about life on Earth. Then suddenly, an epic event casts him in the middle of a difficult decision.  The fate of the planet’s community is in his hands.

Get the book here. I’d appreciate your leaving a review if you read it. Thanks in advance!