Emily Dickinson | A Clock Stopped
Even though the subject matter of Emily Dickinson’s poetry is often dark, the use of imagery and metaphor in her prose is extraordinary, and Dickinson’s metaphors for death are consistently insightful and intriguing. For instance, in the poem below, she compares death to the stopping of clock that “would not stir for Doctors” and “quivered out of decimals.” While death can be a harsh reality, Dickinson’s use of metaphor, in essence, subconsciously softens the truth by equating it with something inanimate. Dickinson’s poem, A Clock Stopped, is an excellent example. If you’re searching for poetry to honor the death of a loved one, it seems fitting to use such beautiful and excellent poetry like that of Dickinson. If not the following poem, you certainly can’t go wrong with any of her other works.
A Clock Stopped
A Clock stopped—
Not the Mantel’s—
Geneva’s farthest skill
Can’t put the puppet bowing—
That just now dangled still—
An awe came on the Trinket!
The Figures hunched, with pain—
Then quivered out of Decimals—
Into Degreeless Noon—
It will not stir for Doctors—
This Pendulum of snow—
This Shopman importunes it—
While cool—concernless No—
Nods from the Gilded pointers—
Nods from the Seconds slim—
Decades of Arrogance between
The Dial life—
And Him—
– Emily Dickinson
Tags: A Clock Stopped, death poetry, Emily Dickinson, Poetry
