I HIDE myself within my flower

I HIDE myself within my flower, That wearing on your breast, You, unsuspecting, wear me too— And angels know the rest I hide myself within my flower, That, fading from your vase, You, unsuspecting, feel for me Almost a loneliness. Had it not been for love, our life would not have been so gracious and wonderful. This can be sometimes the only thing that keeps us going while the rest of the world is against us. That emotion we all come to experience is present in Emily Dickinson’s poem, an example of how love can materialize, taking the shape of a flower. The theme outlined is the strong affection that one can show towards another person. This fact can be sustained by the presence of love that appears as a visual image substituting a flower. The word “hide” reveals the author’s place of tranquillity where she can deepen her thoughts whenever she desires. That spot is “within” and it is also shared with someone else due to the word “your” which is present throughout the poem. The tone can be considered as gentle, for the flower that the author speaks about is a symbol of purity, while the presence of the angels underlines a heavenly atmosphere filled with contentment. The truth that you cannot decide with whom you are going to fall in love is highlighted in the third line: “You, unsuspecting, wear me too”. This denotes how fragile we can be near this powerful feeling. It can grow roots inside our souls without even noticing. The repetition of the first line at the beginning of the second stanza: “I hide myself within my flower” draws attention on how mystical and profound that emotion really is. When being in its company, the author can set herself free and enter a place as beautiful as a flower. However, its weakening becomes obvious for the feeling is now described as “That, fading from your vase”, the vase symbolising the other person’s heart where love had once settled in. Thus, the consequence of this disappearance does not delay to show in the final line: “Almost a loneliness”, leaving just an empty space that remains to be filled again. This piece of poetry is written in the first person by an omniscient author who materialises love and illustrates the result of its’ fading away. The feminine approach is revealed through the mild tone and the words used: “flower”, “angel”, while the crossed rhyme and short sentences give a slower narrative flow. Overall, it can be said that Emily Dickinson has succeeded in outlining how delicate love can be while flourishing inside one’s soul. It can bring happiness and along with it a place to meditate. Still, as a slow process, this can turn into what the author called “a loneliness”. Muresan Adina Laura