journal 1

Nika Bogoslovsky
1/11/08
Dickinson

Quote: "Futile - the winds - /To a Heart in port - /Done with the Compass - /Done with the Chart!"

Summary: Poem #269 [249] by Emily Dickinson dated at 1861. Like most of Dickinson's poems, it can have many meanings.

Response: Whether this poem is about a boy or girl seems insignificant to me but if I had to guess, I would say she's referring to her sister, Lavinia. I think this poem is about Emily enjoying staying at home, not leaving the house and appreciating having her sister home with her too. In the quote above, she says that winds are futile to a heart in port. The winds representing anything that might motivate her from leaving her home, are ineffective because her heart belongs at port, or home. She declares that she's done with the compass and chart. This sounds like she's done with adventures; she's tried to go to school, knows what it's like and has set those things aside. She is content at home. The first stanza makes me think that she's talking about her sister because they both were at home together and it was probably a luxury to have such a close companion at home with her. In the intro, it said that Emily read the bible a lot, the last stanza, referencing Eden, makes me think that she's taking in the comforts of reading. And rather than mooring in a person, mooring in a book at home. What I like about this poem and Dickinson's poems in general, is that they are ambiguous and can have many different meanings. the fun part is figuring them out with the proper evidence.