One of those Pilgrimages

As a writer, you have "those icons." The writers you connect with most, the ones whose words leave you breathless with inspiration. Emily Dickinson falls into that category for many of us, and rightfully so. As our guide in Amherst recently said, "Emily makes you work."

How beautiful to be able to write "in Amherst," for yes, I have been! I stood in the town and remarked about the fact with the same disbelief and fulfillment I had when I said, "I am in Spain."

My intrepid adventuresome sister and I set off in the remnants of "Tropical Depression 17" to make this trek ~ we were not to be deterred. We passed through stunningly dilapidated New England towns ~ former mill towns with sprawling factories left abandoned to broken glass ~ but we found Amherst bustling with the several colleges active there.

We'd not eaten, nor taken a restroom stop for awhile, and we really just stopped at the house to check in and see about touring "in time." I blew through the door with the rain, however, and when the desk attendant said, "Would you like a tour? We have one starting in about a minute" I said, "Yes!"

And so my sister walked through the door and we were swept into the hallway of the Belle of Amherst. The house is expansive and light. I wasn't sure what to expect from the vibe of the place ~ but I found it provocatively happy. I could feel immediately why she was content to become a recluse within its walls.

I had seen the movie "A Quiet Passion," which I am glad I saw, but which I will likely never watch again. Tonight I began "Dickinson," a new Apple TV+ rendition of the poet's life. It was what I expected, but I will likely binge watch it, as I think it gets closer to some inherent truth despite it's artistic licence. My entire image of Emily has changed since learning her hair was red (though it's dark in the show). I feel like I understand her better, sitting at her small writing table in her corner room.

In Lavinia's room the museum has a classroom of sorts set up, where we studied Emily's unique style of verse. "Would anyone like to read this poem aloud?" our guide asked. Would I? To read "I dwell in possibility, A fairer house than prose" in her home, where the words were penned....the very air seemed to breathe!

We also trekked across Emily's path to the Evergreens to call on Austin and Sue. To my delight and horror, this house has not been restored! It is very much like it "was" and yet not, and yet so! I could fairly hear the literary soirees taking place in the parlor ~ and the artwork collected by Austin hangs in the dim solitude of falling rain.

The nursery where Emily's nephew died is just as it was.

I left one of my calling cards in the bin by the heavy Victorian staircase. It was pleasing and pretty there.

The gift shop had very few items for sale ~ I admit disappointment and surprise, but I bought a volume of poems and a card with the print of the wallpaper in Emily's room. It was thrilling to know they had found and replicated the original. Roses.

And so, my copy of Emily's poems remains the one that was originally dad's. It's weather worn with a 60/70's cover and lose pages, but perhaps that is the perfection of it after all. I can see how she influenced his own writing, in those days of education with Bruffy Conner. I would like for dad to know I was there ~ for him to have gone, even. But perhaps we take our spirits with us. Or, perhaps they are communing in the afterlife as I write.

After all, we dwell in possibility, don't we?

The Second Book

The second book is a sacred thing ~ it's going forward with the promise to yourself that you are a writer. That you will keep doing this thing.

In this case, Chrysalis is a compilation of three years of my life, through caregiving, grief, and recovery. It's verse, a day here, a day there. One of my friends at the Left Bank Writer's Retreat said she thought she could do a haiku a day, and that was my inspiration. I thought "I think I could manage that, too."

Being able to just jot a short line often emptied emotion in a powerful way. It was hard to revisit some of these poems to type the manuscript, but in the end, they showed me that I survived, and that others can as well - and maybe not just survive, but also take flight.

A Nudge Along the Way

Sometimes in this busy life, it is hard to sit down and take the time for thought, let alone the depth of thought that writing necessitates. Sometimes we need a little help along the way. On my last venture to the bookstore, I came across a section of Piccadilly books ~ they offer inexpensive little guided journals with a rich variety of writing prompts! I bought a book called "Write the Poem." It provides a topic, lined pages, and eight words of potential association. Add to that your pocket rhyming dictionary, and you're off!

Each action leads to more action, each thought leads to connections. There's a whole set of these books ~ "Write the Story," "Draw the Picture." I know I'll be back for more!

Learn more about "Write the Poem"

Learn More about Piccadilly's "Get Inspired to Write" series