J520

I started Early - Took my Dog -And visited the Sea -The Mermaids in the BasementCame out to look at me -

And Frigates - in the Upper FloorExtended Hempen Hands -Presuming Me to be a Mouse -Aground - upon the Sands -

But no Man moved Me - till the TideWent past my simple Shoe -And past my Apron - and my BeltAnd past my Bodice - too -

And made as He would eat me up -As wholly as a DewUpon a Dandelion’s Sleeve -And then - I started - too -

And He - He followed - close behind -I felt His Silver HeelUpon my Ankle - then my ShoesWould overflow with Pearl -

Until We met the Solid Town -No One He seemed to know -And bowing - with a Mighty look -At me - the Sea withdrew -

c. 1862                    1929

Here Dickinson gives us a parable of Existential dread. While she initially feels comfortable in her contemplation of the sea, she suddenly realizes how threatening the natural world can be to an isolated individual—how easy to drown and disappear forever. Only when she returns to town, where the distractions of social life mask that recognition, does the threat of the sea withdraw.