Selecting Our Own Society

The Soul selects her own Society–

Then—shuts the Door—

To her divine Majority—

Present no more—

Unmoved—she notes the Chariots–pausing—

At her low Gate—

Unmoved-an Emperor be kneeling

Upon her Mat–

I’ve known her–from an ample nation—

Choose One–

Then–close the Valves of her attention—

Like Stone—

(Emily Dickinson, c. 1862)*

This poem reminds me of America in this moment. Our commitment to the individual and our belief in self-reliance are worthy qualities. Yet, our strength is usually our Achilles’ heel.

We struggle like two individuals standing on either side of a political chasm, selecting our own society.

And in the selection, we shut the door on all else.

*(Final Harvest: Emily Dickinson’s Poems, Selection and Introduction by Thomas H. Johnson, Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1961)

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