Emily Dickinson – I heard Fly buzz – when i died

I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air –
Between the Heaves of Storm –

The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –
And Breaths were gathering firm
For that last Onset – when the King
Be witnessed – in the Room –

I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away
What portion of me be
Assignable – and then it was
There interposed a Fly –

With Blue – uncertain – stumbling Buzz –
Between the light – and me –
And then the Windows failed – and then
I could not see to see –

Emily Dickinson’s ‘ I heard a fly buzz – when I died’ reflects on a slow buildup of a vivid and accepting coming to death, only for this transition to be interrupted abruptly and unexpectedly by an ordinary and uninteresting fly, highlighting the mundanity of mortality, and the unremarkable and unpreparable experience that is death.
The beginning of the speaker’s transition to death starts out with an atmosphere of stillness and tranquility. They describe a setting that is not completely parallel with a scary death. The ‘stillness in the room (and) air’ being comparable to the middle of ‘the heaves of storm’. The picture being painted out of the context of death seems rather peaceful, the space they are in is completely at peace like the water in between waves of a storm. In the context of death, the speaker seems to be anticipatory, death is expected, the quiet moment at the beginning of the poem is underscoring the weight of the impending, it is as if nature is holding its breath in anticipation of an unpreparable moment.
In the second stanza into the middle of the third, Dickinson shifts the focus to a more physical and emotional presence of the speaker with the acknowledgment of others in the room. The ‘Eyes’ and ‘Breaths’ symbolize the gathering viewers. The presence of these viewers conveyed a sense of readiness, the eyes had been ‘wrung dry’ from tears and the ‘breaths were gathering firm for the last onset’. The oxymoron of ‘last Onset’ is a final attempt of preparation or knowing what happens next. The speaker takes a religious perspective, thinking an afterlife ensues. This calm tone of the speaker contrasts with the heightened emotions of the witnesses, emphasizing the gap between the anticipation of this unpreparable moment of death.
In the final stretch of the poem, the speaker’s eventful and thoughtful anticipation of this transition to death is interrupted by the ordinary presence of a fly. The final shift occurs in line 11, the speaker is living their last moments, their keepsakes are being given to those around them, and abruptly a fly appears. This unexpected interruption contrasts greatly with the supposed gravity of the moment. A moment so climatic and monumental, one’s life, is ended rudely by the insignificant and ordinary presence of a fly. This symbolizes the unpredictability and somewhat random characteristics of death. The speaker’s perception sort of fades away, the ‘Windows failed’ and they ‘could not see to see’. The abrupt ending to the poem and the speaker’s life leaves an uneasy or unresolved ending. Ultimately reinforcing the aspects of an unavoidable yet mundane experience that death is.

Ross White – Dark Money

DARK MONEY
Of all lies, the worst is The truth will set you free.
I don’t think truth unshackled my father.
Truth paid his moving expenses, set him up
in his grandmother’s house with his new wife ―
his former secretary ― and two children he didn’t know
how to talk to. Truth banished him
from branch location and operations,
from belonging to the fraternity of money,
and in his exile, he wandered by motorcycle
from flea market to gun show.
In twenty-five years since, I don’t think truth
has, like a magician, swept doves from under
its handkerchiefs, or doubled my father’s joints
to free him from the straitjacket and cuffs.
He collects badges. Detectives, marshals,
the old silver stars. He still believes in law
and order, even as the television he keeps muted
shows him images of protestors, of the officers
who discharged weapons into unarmed teens.
Has it brought him any comfort to know
where the money came from, whose pockets
it now lines? Has it brought him any comfort
to speak that truth to regulators? Sometimes
in my dreams, I see the Keating Five seated
in a circle, cigars and good Scotch, in a dim room.
They laugh about dark money, having taken
so much out in the open, and John Glenn says,
I could still go back into space, and John McCain says,
Who knows? Maybe I’ll just run for President,
and then they both do, but before ―
my father shuffles in, his expression neutral,
a white cloth draped over his arm,
puts their empties on his tray, and asks
if there’s anything else he can do for them.

Analysis

In Ross White’s poem ‘Dark Money’, White challenges the common notion that the ‘truth will set you free’ by giving a personal anecdote about his father. Through this he implies that his father was involved in some sort of scandal regarding money, the effect of the ‘truth’ being set free did the opposite of freeing for his father and his family, the poem dives deeper into the consequences of the truth. The speaker is reflective, critical, yet sometimes sarcastic and ironic. He is not proud of his fathers actions, he is clearly critical of both his father, and this notion of the truth. “I don’t think the truth unshackled my father. Truth paid his moving expenses, set him up in his grandmother’s house with his new wife ―his former secretary ― and two children he didn’t know how to talk to. Truth banished him”. The title ‘Dark Money’ is relevant, serving as his main point of evidence in this challenge to the notion that the truth is freeing. ” I don’t think the truth has, like a magician, swept doves from under its handkerchiefs, or doubled my father’s joints to free him from the straitjacket and cuffs.” The title implies his father took a shady series of events that proves this notion wrong and caused his freedom to seize. White also uses several poetic techniques to further disprove this notion, one of which being an allusion to the Keating Five. The Keating Five were US Senators involved in a financial scandal back in the 1980s. “ Sometimes in my dreams, I see the Keating Five seated in a circle, cigars and good Scotch, in a dim room. They laugh about dark money, having taken so much out in the open, and John Glenn says, I could still go back into space, and John McCain says, Who knows? Maybe I’ll just run for President, and then they both do, but before ― my father shuffles in, his expression neutral, a white cloth draped over his arm, puts their empties on his tray, and asks
if there’s anything else he can do for them.” The allusion to this group, specifically McCain and Glenn keeping their seats, directly juxtaposes his fathers experience, and his freedom being oppositely taken from him, represented through his father being their server. The shift in the poem occurs at this point. He goes from a more anecdotal style, talking about what actually happened, and his fathers experience, to this allusion with the Keating Five, transitioning a more literal tail, to a more figurative, dreamlike, and ironic tone. Overall ‘Dark Money’ takes a critical stance on the common notion that the truth is freeing. It does this through a personal anecdote of his father’s experience with the truth, how when he was exposed for whatever scandal, the truth had the opposite effect on him.

Ross White – Civilizations

“Someone turned Civilization into a video game, so I’m destroying the Incas. Though days ago I could have sworn I’d never eradicate a whole culture, I want those resources. A thick karmic retribution, à la Kafka, may await me, but it’ll not keep me from deploying this archer to Cuzco, that battalion to Antisuyu. I have already quashed the French, though that caused a less severe remorse. I made grudging peace with the British only after occupying Liverpool, when I had to retrench before they captured Rome from me. I could crush them now with ease, but I’m a benevolent tyrant. I’ll throw my whole Civilization into disarray soon to promote democracy, but let me enjoy the fruits of despotism for just a few minutes more. It’s not that I planned to rule this way, but this is the only thing I rule. I cannot simply throw chariots at the schism I feel with my own country. God, grant me the serenity to accept, to admit all that I cannot change into the walls of my small kingdom, and control it.”

Analysis

Analysis

In Ross White’s poem ‘Civilizations’ from the book ‘The Polite Society’, White takes a critical stance on early imperialism and conquestors in the Americas. At its surface, the poem is about a video game based around Civilization. The author is making different decisions to further conquer and build a society. When reading further between the lines, it is an obvious critique of early imperialism in North and South America. The speaker sounds almost sarcastic and aware of it. He drops casual lines about ‘destroying the Incas’ and ‘eradicating a whole culture’. He follows these lines with a weak justification of ‘I want those resources’. This justification is so punyand fragile that it sounds like nobody would logically say that. This creates one of two effects on the reader, either resentment towards the author, or an obvious tone of sarcasm and criticism. To me it came off as very sardonic, he’s making a critical mockery of these conquistadors. He is aware of this mockery, these statements are so absurd that the reader would think the speaker is so small minded and ignorant. As for poetic techniques, the poem in whole is an extended metaphor for imperialism. It takes place as the author playing a video game that takes actions of an oppressive explorer. He casually eradicates an entire culture simply to gain more resources, something that is seen as so horrible would only happen nowadays in some sort of video game. The video game represents these past actions. Further, built into these actions, there are allusions to real life actions, mainly those against Incas, French, and British. He also refers to himself being a morally good, and justifiable tyrant, which is an obvious case of Irony. He refers to himself (which represents these conquistadors) as a benevolent tyrant, meaning a kind and well meaning tyrant, which is obviously not true both in the text of the poem, and the subtext of this allusion. The diction is very intentional throughout the poem. He mixes very casual phrases with very meaningful phrases. For example his actions like ‘I want those resources’, ‘grudging peace with the British’, ‘ admit all that I cannot change into the walls of my small kingdom, and control it.’. With more heavy, meaningful, and almost political undertone in those sentences, benevolent, quashed, and battalion. This can have several effects on the reader. It gives a sense of realism to what he is saying, although it is a video game in this context, these things did in fact happen. It also reinforces the early concept with the speaker, battling his sarcasm. The poem shifts from his lighthearted dominance to a more serious conclusion, mainly in the last sentence ; “I cannot simply throw chariots at the schism I feel with my own country. God, grant me the serenity to accept, to admit all that I cannot change into the walls of my small kingdom, and control it.” In conclusion the poem takes a critical stance in an extended metaphor, sarcastically mocking the thought process and ways of thinking of early conquistadors.

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Ross White

Ross White

Ross White is the author of Charm Offensive, winner of the Sexton Prize for Poetry, and three chapbooks, Valley of Want, How We Came Upon the Colony and The Polite Society. He is the director of Bull City Press, an independent publisher of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, where he hosts The Chapbook, a podcast devoted to chapbooks. He teaches creative writing, podcasting, publishing, and grammar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in American Poetry Review, New England Review, Ploughshares, Poetry Daily, Tin House, and The Southern Review, among others. With Matthew Olzmann, he edited Another & Another: An Anthology from the Grind Daily Writing Series.