Escape is such a thankful Word 1
I often in the Night
Consider it unto myself
No spectacle in sight
Escape－it is the Basket 5
In which the Heart is caught
When down some awful Battlement
The rest of Life is dropt－
'Tis not to sight the savior－9
It is to be the saved－
And that is why I lay my Head
Upon this trusty word－
I often in the Night
Consider it unto myself
No spectacle in sight
Escape－it is the Basket 5
In which the Heart is caught
When down some awful Battlement
The rest of Life is dropt－
'Tis not to sight the savior－9
It is to be the saved－
And that is why I lay my Head
Upon this trusty word－
(F.1364/J.1347)
[1] Escape:: a plant that has escaped from cultivation (OED escape n.2), to the wild.
[3] it unto myself:: Dickinson compared the plant with herself, who escaped to the wild.
[4] No spectacle:: not an extraordinary view in sight, on her or the plant.
[5] Basket:: shape of the heart-seed, also called balloon vine, looks like a basket.
[6] Heart:: a hint on the climbing plant heart-seed; the seed inside the basket has a heart-shaped mark.
[8] dropt:: the hanging of the basket; also alluding to her life.
[9] not, sight, savior:: the plant or she didn't go wild to find someone to help.
[10] to be the saved:: the plant wanted to be alive; she wanted to keep her thought.
[11] my Head:: my thought.
[12] Upon this:: she let her thought escape to the wild.
The plant is remarkable for its inflated membranous capsule, from which it is sometimes called Balloon Vine, or Love in a Puff. The flowers are white and green, without any claim to beauty. ─ The Flower Garden (1859)