The liberty to die
– The sole, unchallenged gift
To hearts from their Inquisitor –
Is consequent of life;
The ambuscade of love
With all attendant wounds
Is why, within a world of pain,
The heart asks pleasure first.
Author notes
The heart asks pleasure first
And then, excuse from pain;
And then those little anodynes
That deaden suffering;
And then to go to sleep;
And then, if it should be
The will of its Inquisitor,
The liberty to die.
Emily Dickinson
My poem was written for a native of the Berkshires.
In a list
- Homages to other poets and authors... • next in list
- Special poems... • next in list
- Inspired by Emily Dickinson • next in list
A contest entry
- The Mind of Emily Dickinson by PoetessA.L.OPrunty.
700 points, ended October 13, 9 entries
Silver trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 31 of 31
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wow
liberty to die at the hands of the hangman........thi I believe is the fate based outcome left...call it liberty or bound ..guess one nd the same.....but ..errr I get your point....the inner should reconcile to fate ..then it is liberty -
Excellent
Very strong, very powerful. -
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Thank you.
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WOW
very very deeply felt and powerful imagery..amazing pen my talented friend...
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I love the heart asks pleasure first! By Michael Nyman! Or did you just put that in without any relevance to the song? Mm probably, but it's still an awesome song. And I really like this poem; short but the words you chose made it flow really smoothly, it kind of rolls off your tongue, even when you're thinking it.
Fab work, poet
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Thank you. I always connect the song and the original poem by Emily Dickinson, although I have no knowledge of whether Michael Nyman wrote the melody with the poem in mind. My author notes above include a link to a video of images from The Piano.
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'the ambuscade of love' is redolent with meaning - I like your poem better than Ms Frogpondian's. I enjoy the cadence of these words, soothing.
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Thank you - I find my own words stumble in comparison to hers.
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Superb Poetry
Ahh! Mairi dear! What a sweet, sweet breath of fresh life this Royal Poem is!!! My inner self is revived to greater heights with such simplified mastery... DW
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intense
seeks pleasure first......ahemmm...wounded multiple times.....true imemdiate balm is better than long lasting calm...which can be infested with more wounds.......you definitely do not pad....and that is why comment against it.....I would apprecaite your visits on me. -
is that sole or soul? don't mind me...I had to look up three words yesterday because for some reason they just didn't seem 'right' when I wrote them down. I am too embarrassed to tell you what the three words were
Anyway, a beautiful short piece - I think you do very well with shorter pieces...they are like a burst of bright light.
Love you
L
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That is sole, as in only. You may be right about my being good in short bursts, I guess.
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"I would be less afraid of God and hell were it not for the fact that there is so much room to make such a thing."
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mairi
Nice to see they yet inspire us!
Exquisite!
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Muchas gracias, John.
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I think I prefer yours better too, though Miss Emily has never been a fav of mine, I mean look at her..did she ever find a love in her life looking like that?? Sheesh..lol I know I am cruel but she writes of things I wonder if she had any idea of at all. Oh well guess that's why it is called fiction.
C
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I'm no oil-painting either, Chez!
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I think I might actually like your version better. well done.
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Short burst but it hangs in the air for quite a while after firing.
The missle is the heart flung arrow,
the pain is only smoke.
lovely
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Excellent use of ambuscade, nicely done.
I'm not a great fan of ED but I like this.
C
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this is soo beautiful!
The ambuscade of love.. I love that line!
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Thank you for entering my contest. True Dickinson style in your piece.
Good Luck!
A. L. O'Prunty -
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That was the aim.
Thank you.
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I am pretty sure that that's the first time I've seen ambuscade used other than in the various "HMS Ambuscades", it's a lovely line.
Not Bad
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Thanks, bro.
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"The ambuscade of love" Love that!
Love Amera♥
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Thank you, Sis.
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Both gorgeous and profound, Scribe. Good luck in the contest, Sweetie. 
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Thank you. I'm writing in short bursts these days.
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