Ourselves Were Wed One Summer -- Dear --

16 lines

Emily Dickinson·1830–1886·Lyric·American lyric poetry

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Summary Meaning

Emily Dickinson's 'Ourselves Were Wed One Summer -- Dear --' explores the theme of a transcendent, internalized marriage that supersedes conventional ceremony, using the symbol of a fleeting summer to signify an ephemeral yet eternal spiritual union. The poem's philosophical underpinnings draw from Transcendentalist notions of innate, soul-deep connections with nature and the divine, suggesting that true wedlock is a private, timeless covenant rather than a public rite. Dickinson employs a reverent, intimate tone, marked by her characteristic dashes and personification, to evoke a sense of sacred nostalgia and enduring fidelity. The resonance of the poem lies in its subtle juxtaposition of temporal fragility—the summer's end—against the permanence of a bond sealed beyond earthly constraints, ultimately affirming the sovereignty of inner experience over external ritual.

urselves were wed one summer -- dear --

Your Vision -- was in June --

And when Your little Lifetime failed,

I wearied -- too -- of mine --

And overtaken in the Dark --

Where You had put me down --

By Some one carrying a Light --

I -- too -- received the Sign.

'Tis true -- Our Futures different lay --

Your Cottage -- faced the sun --

While Oceans -- and the North must be --

On every side of mine

'Tis true, Your Garden led the Bloom,

For mine -- in Frosts -- was sown --

And yet, one Summer, we were Queens --

But You -- were crowned in June --

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