Emily Dickinson
I Heard a 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 Heavens 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 -
I heard a Fly Buzz - when I died
The Stillness in the Room
Was like the Stillness in the Air -
Between the Heavens 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 -
During the time that Emily Dickinson wrote this intriguing poem, the Civil War had been going on already for two years. The Civil War changed how people thought in every way of life, eventually completely changing America. During this time, hearing and learning new things about the war was a way of your life. Hearing about the war would be like hearing about a celebrity now. Having a war always influences people, but I believe the Civil War influenced more Americans than ever. Because it was right here on our home turf, the place we were comfortable in, was now being used as a battlefield. Emily Dickinson shows in this poem how she was influenced by the war and what she took from it. In my head, I can see flies buzzing around the barely living soldiers. "The Eyes around.." are your fellow brothers watching you fall yet knowing they have to trek on to serve their country well. I believe that Emily Dickinson could have very well wrote this about the soldiers dying in battle.