The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson. I reviewed it on Goodreads, which made me laugh. Date finished reading: Never. One to five stars: 10,000. Bookshelf: my iPhone, so I'm never without a Dickinson poem, should the need arise. I'm tempted to only quote Dickinson in a review of this luminary of solitude, this pristine custodian of her own periodic deaths, and this mystically crowned priestess of Nature's God. When my inspiration flags, a Dickinson poem restores zest and also humility. If I had to pick a favorite poet, Emily Dickinson is it. My homage to her:
Emily Takes the Stage
The Day that I was
crowned
Was like the other Days --
Until the Coronation came --
And then -- 'twas Otherwise --
Like the Beach Blanket
Babylon
lady who carries a city
on her head,
some women walk to the
soul’s well,
balancing with both hands
the water
for their thirsty
village,
but you balanced on your
slender neck
a galaxy-wide diadem.
It dropped jewels
everywhere,
in field and town, in
school and parlor,
in letter and note.
Children, maids,
and innocents pounced on
those green, glinting
stones.
Unlike the Babylon lady,
you didn’t need props
to hold up your crown.
You only needed to
lighten it
by strewing and sewing
into packets
your wit and gems.