the Ethereal Blow

Bit of an Emily Dickinson theme, following the previous blip ...

... but here's one of my all-time Dickinson favourites - possession, fervour, love; all so compactly conveyed:


He fumbles at your Soul

He fumbles at your Soul
As Players at the Keys —
Before they drop full Music on —
He stuns you by Degrees —

Prepares your brittle Nature
For the Ethereal Blow
By fainter Hammers — further heard —
Then nearer — Then so — slow —

Your Breath — has time to straighten —
Your Brain — to bubble Cool —
Deals One — imperial Thunderbolt —
That scalps your naked soul —

When Winds hold Forests in their Paws —
The Universe — is still —

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Emily Dickinson (1830 – 1886)

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