My Life had stood－a Loaded Gun－1
In Corners－till a Day
The Owner passed－identified－
And carried Me away－
And now We roam in Sovereign Woods－5
And now We hunt the Doe－
And every time I speak for Him－
The Mountains straight reply－
And do I smile, such cordial light 9
Upon the Valley glow－
It is as a Vesuvian face
Had let its pleasure through－
And when at Night－Our good Day done－13
I guard My Master's Head－
'Tis better than the Eider-Duck's
Deep Pillow－to have shared－
To foe of His－I'm deadly foe－17
None stir the second time－
On whom I lay a Yellow Eye－
Or an emphatic Thumb－
Though I than He－may longer live 21
He longer must－than I－
For I have but the power to kill,
Without－the power to die－
In Corners－till a Day
The Owner passed－identified－
And carried Me away－
And now We roam in Sovereign Woods－5
And now We hunt the Doe－
And every time I speak for Him－
The Mountains straight reply－
And do I smile, such cordial light 9
Upon the Valley glow－
It is as a Vesuvian face
Had let its pleasure through－
And when at Night－Our good Day done－13
I guard My Master's Head－
'Tis better than the Eider-Duck's
Deep Pillow－to have shared－
To foe of His－I'm deadly foe－17
None stir the second time－
On whom I lay a Yellow Eye－
Or an emphatic Thumb－
Though I than He－may longer live 21
He longer must－than I－
For I have but the power to kill,
Without－the power to die－
(F.764/J.754)
[1] My Life, Gun:: the narrator is a gun dog. Loaded:: burdened, miserable.
[2] In Corners:: the dog was not utilized as a gun-dog before.
[3] Owner:: a man has just retired, and starts to wander and hunt in woods, as in following lines.
[3] identified:: he identifies the dog's hunting gift.
[5] roam:: to wander; a hint that the man has a leisure life.
[7, 8] speak, Mountains, reply:: barks of the dog.
[9, 10] light, glow:: light of a gun fire.
[11] Vesuvian face:: the man's face that looks like Mount Vesuvius about to erupt.
[12] let its pleasure through:: the gunshot relieves him like an eruption.
[13, 14] night, done, Master:: the two lines have no impact to the answer, but to express Dickinson's own feeling. The master is her father. More details come later after more related poems solved.
[15, 16] Eider-Duck's Deep Pillow:: the dog around the man's head as his pillow.
[17] foe of His:: animals being hunted by the man.
[18] None stir the second time:: the dog can point or retrieve the hunted in their first stir, no second chance for them.
[19] Yellow:: jealousy, the vigilance in guarding a possession from loss.
[20] Thumb:: the inmost digit of an animal's fore-foot. emphatic Thumb:: a gun-dog (pointer) can point the direction with its foreleg and tail.
[21] longer live:: the dog may live, with aliveness, longer than the man.
[22] must:: to grow mouldy or musty (OED must v.2). longer must:: this line equals to "He may longer must than I." The man may longer get musty than the dog, for he is willing to retire, but the dog not.
[23] kill:: to kill, fight animals.
[24] die:: to retire as the master, something the dog would not do.
Gun Dogs. The Pointer and Setter, Land and Water Spaniel, The Newfoundland Dog and Poodle. . . . Beyond a doubt, the Setter is the most useful gun dog of the two; but the Pointer is the largest, most stately and shewy, and is admired for his rate, his high ranging and steadiness. The Setter on his part, may put in his claim, and more especially when of the pure breed, to his full share of the intelligence, sagacity, and affection for man, which shines so eminently and so delightfully in the Spaniel. ─ The Sportsman's Repository (1845)
