Poetry Sunday: Dear March - Come in by Emily Dickinson

So now we welcome March and wonder how we got here so fast. And, of course, there is a poem for that by no less than the "Belle of Amherst" herself. It's somewhat enigmatic. What do you think it means?


Dear March – Come in (1320)
by Emily Dickinson 
Dear March – Come in –
How glad I am –
I hoped for you before –
Put down your Hat –
You must have walked –
How out of Breath you are –
Dear March, how are you, and the Rest –
Did you leave Nature well –
Oh March, Come right upstairs with me –
I have so much to tell –

I got your Letter, and the Birds –
The Maples never knew that you were coming –
I declare – how Red their Faces grew –
But March, forgive me –
And all those Hills you left for me to Hue –
There was no Purple suitable –
You took it all with you –

Who knocks? That April –
Lock the Door –
I will not be pursued –
He stayed away a Year to call
When I am occupied –
But trifles look so trivial
As soon as you have come

That blame is just as dear as Praise
And Praise as mere as Blame –

Comments

  1. Thanks for posting. I love Emily Dickerson. March is one of my favorite months. Thus I like this one a lot.

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    1. March surely begins to bring respite from winter's icy breath to those in more northern climes. Although I understand the breath hasn't been all that icy this winter.

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  2. March is the first bringer of Spring, so welcome. There really is a red glow in the maple tree tips and you can see a purplish hue in the hills in sunny weather as the sap rises. I want to enjoy every little step of March. I don't want to be distracted by another caller, either, one that sometimes brings late snowstorms that are so unwelcome (yes, we can get snowstorms in April here.) I will walk today and I think I will be seeing some open crocuses.

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    1. That sounds lovely, Alana. March has been sending us "letters" for a couple of weeks now with the leafing out of the trees and the beginning of return for the perennials in the garden. And, of course, there are the birds who have been busy building nests and getting a head start on the next generation.

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  3. In my experience March is almost as fickle as February is dour. One week in. We will see.

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    1. It can be a bit schizophrenic here, too. It's not so unusual to have a day with temperatures in the high 70s followed by one in the 50s, but things get more settled by the end of the month.

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  4. I read the poem initially and then returned to it a couple of times. March can be fickle indeed, at times perhaps the most fickle month of all. One day last week I shovelled snow from my driveway and sidewalk. Today it is eleven degrees with sunshine and everywhere bare earth is starting to appear.

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    1. Spring is just around the corner, no matter how March may try to fool us!

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  5. Wow it's been awhile since I read Emily .... but it's such a lovely poem. We are having a snowstorm tonite and it's white and pretty out. Still I will await March's letter. thanks.

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    1. i'm sure you'll be receiving those letters pretty soon.

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  6. Well, March came to visit and she is in no hurry to see it leave, not even if the delayed April wants to kick down the door. :-) I love it!

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    1. So far March has been pretty kind to us, though my garden could definitely use some more rain.

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