Search
Search
A fairer House than Prose

A fairer House than Prose

Emilio Magistretti, il Duomo, General exterior view from the east, 1921.

I dwell in Possibility

by Emily Dickinson

I dwell in Possibility –
A fairer House than Prose –
More numerous of Windows –
Superior – for Doors –

Of Chambers as the Cedars –
Impregnable of eye –
And for an everlasting Roof
The Gambrels of the Sky –

Of Visitors – the fairest –
For Occupation – This –
The spreading wide my narrow Hands
To gather Paradise –

I found myself quoting the opening line of this one to Sophie, who is on a Dickinson kick with me. I couldn’t remember the rest of the poem and so had to look it up.

Share:FacebookX
Join the discussion

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

4 comments
  • Exquisite!

    This led to a reverie involving the aria ‘I dreamt I dwelt in marble halls’ and the opening line of du Maurier’s novel Rebecca. Back to the poem- I love the last stanza especially.

    • Oh I love those connections, I definitely see how you drift from one to the next. Enya’s version of Marble Halls was once on continuous play in my dorm room, it’s such a haunting song. And then I love how you connect that with the opening of Rebecca, too.

      And yes, that last stanza catches my breath every time.

      For me the connection I make is to the final stanza of Oliver Wendell Holmes’ The Chambered Nautilis:

      “Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul,
      As the swift seasons roll!
      Leave thy low-vaulted past!
      Let each new temple, nobler than the last,
      Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast,
      Till thou at length art free,
      Leaving thine outgrown shell by life’s unresting sea!”

Archives

Categories