J1593

There came a Wind like a Bugle -It quivered through the GrassAnd a Green Chill upon the HeatSo ominous did passWe barred the Windows and the DoorsAs from an Emerald Ghost -The Doom’s electric MoccasinThat very instant passed -On a strange Mob of panting TreesAnd Fences fled awayAnd Rivers where the Houses ranThose looked that lived - that Day -The Bell within the steeple wildThe flying tidings told -How much can comeAnd much can go,And yet abide the World!

c. 1883                    1891

This poem forms a kind of companion piece to number 258. In both, the poet’s response to a momentary perception leads her to a deep recognition. But this one is perhaps even more philosophical in its conclusion. Here, the momentary wind inspires her with a sense of dread at the ineluctable passing of all physical phenomena, including herself. And yet, it ends with a realization that the permanence of the world, in language, is actually based in the transience of all-that-is.