Because I Could Not Stop For Death

Because I could not stop for Death,He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.
We passed the school, where children strove
At recess, in the ring;
We passed the fields of gazing grain,
We passed the setting sun.
Or rather, he passed us;
The dews grew quivering and chill,
For only gossamer my gown,
My tippet only tulle.
We paused before a house that seemed
A swelling of the ground;
The roof was scarcely visible,
The cornice but a mound.
Since then 'tis centuries, and yet each
Feels shorter than the day
I first surmised the horses' heads
Were toward eternity.

By Emily Dickinson



   Obviously this is a poem about death. Dickinson portrays death as a companion in the carriage as she passes previous places from her past such as the school. I didn't quite understand the meaning of the poem except for the fact that while she travels, it seems to me that her final destination is inevitably towards her grave. What I enjoyed about this poem was the aspect of being near immortality. Death takes life but at the same time he is immortal and has no idea how long it has been or rather he doesn't even care. I enjoyed the casual feeling of the poem even though it revolves around the fearful idea of being with death. I also felt as though the poem centers around the theme of the journey towards death. When we die it's said that your life flashes before your eyes and the school is the narrators life flashing by her. Usually we would see this as a shocking and somewhat terrifying moment but in this case it is a leisurely stroll.