He forgot－and I－remembered－1
'Twas an everyday affair－
Long ago as Christ and Peter－
"Warmed them" at the "Temple fire."
"Thou wert with him"－quoth "the Damsel"? 5
"No"－said Peter, 'twasn't me－
Jesus merely "looked" at Peter－
Could I do aught else－to Thee?
'Twas an everyday affair－
Long ago as Christ and Peter－
"Warmed them" at the "Temple fire."
"Thou wert with him"－quoth "the Damsel"? 5
"No"－said Peter, 'twasn't me－
Jesus merely "looked" at Peter－
Could I do aught else－to Thee?
(F.232/J.203)
[1] He:: God, who forgot something (to punish the denier Peter).
[2] everyday affair:: a common thing (that Dickinson being denied).
[3] as Christ and Peter:: same as the event of Peter denied Christ three times, some Christians denied Dickinson.
[4] "Warmed them":: satisfied people in the Temple, the church. "Temple fire":: anger of the Temple, some Christians.
[5] Damsel:: the narrator, Dickinson. "Thou wert with him":: "You (some Christians) agreed with Peter (the denier)?"
[6] "No":: Peter (a denier) said, "no, it was not you being denied." 'twasn't me:: no quotations here; it was not me the narrator.
[7] Jesus merely "looked":: Jesus did not reproach Peter but only looked at him.
[8] I:: Dickinson, can do nothing to those who denied her. This line has no quotation marks.
And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. (Luke 22:61)