Split the Lark -- Emily Dickinson

Not had a Dickinson in a while...

(Poem #580) Split the Lark Split the Lark--and you'll find the Music-- Bulb after Bulb, in Silver rolled-- Scantily dealt to the Summer Morning Saved for your Ear when Lutes be old. Loose the Flood--you shall find it patent-- Gush after Gush, reserved for you-- Scarlet Experiment! Sceptic Thomas! Now, do you doubt that your Bird was true? -- Emily Dickinson

An exquisite poem, mixing imagery in a way that few other poets would be able
to get away with. Countless poets have attempted to capture the essence of
music in a number of images, but Dickinson's is surely one of the most
beautiful I've seen.

Today's poem seems to be highly allusive, and I'm not sure I've not missed a
reference or two. One obvious allusion in the first verse, for instance, is
to the goose that laid the golden eggs (a reading supported by the use of
'bulb'), but do the next two lines refer to anything? Likewise, the second
verse refers to the New Testament story of Doubting Thomas, who refused to
believe that Jesus had risen 'Except I shall see in his hands the print of
the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand
into his side'. And the Bird (tying rather neatly in with the first verse)
is probably a reference to the Holy Spirit descending upon Christ in the
form of a dove, but if anyone has something stronger to suggest do write in.

Dickinson:

See the comments after 'There's a Certain Slant of Light', poem #92

The above poem presents another of Dickinson's startlingly original
comparisons, incidentally (again involving music, though on the other side
of the equation).

Links:

The story of Doubting Thomas is in John 20:
http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=4862513

Here's a discussion of the poem:
[broken link] http://lal.cs.byu.edu/mlists/emweb/199808/19980816-1.html

The poem has been set to music by Paul Schwartz:
[broken link] http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/d/dickinson/lark.html

-martin