Эмили Дикинсон - Лишь Дверь на улице открылась -

Николаев-Смирнов Сергей

Эмили Дикинсон

Лишь Дверь на улице открылась –

Я – потерявшись – проходила мимо –

Мгновения Тепло раскрылось в Ширину –

И в Благо – и в Приязнь –

Та Дверь мгновеньем схлопнулась – И я –

Я – потерявшись – проходила мимо –

Потеряна двояко – но в отличье – суть –

Уведомление – Страданье –

* * *

Emily Dickinson

A Door (there opened – to a House –) just opened on a street –

I – lost – was passing by –

An instant's Width of Warmth disclosed –

And Wealth [of Warmth] – and Company [of Warmth] –

The Door as (sudden) instant shut – And I –

I – lost – was passing by –

Lost doubly – but by contrast – most –

(Enlightening – | Enabling –) Informing – Misery –

(Notes by Author)

[Notes by Translator]

1864 – Johnson Poems (1955) – J953

1865 – Franklin Variorum (1998) – F914A

* * *

See Tips for Reading section of Emily Dickinson Museum website.

Web archive: 1B5mT

* * *

The speaker of this poem suffers a double loss.

She had already suffered an unspecified loss, when,

walking down a street, an open door which

momentarily had a "Width of Warmth disclosed"

is the next instant shut.

Of the two losses it is the contrast of the momentarily

open door with her own isolation which most informs

or gives shape to her misery.

David Preest, site: The Poems of Emily Dickinson

Web archive: mb0rE

* * *

Perhaps what we're hungering after is a moment we can be held in

forever, one where "warmth," "wealth" and "company" never cease.

Such a moment is beyond the scope of our reality;

one would never describe time as _wide_, but length fits.

One "instant" follows the first declaration of being lost,

and there it is a noun: an almost non-existent length of time.

The other "instant" serves as an adverb, describing how fast

the Door shut. It is tempting to read "The Door as instant" as one unit,

emphasizing "The Door" as equivalent to the "instant."

But Dickinson's speaker is developing her thought about

how lost she really is. She is "lost doubly:" one gets the distinct impression

the speaker does not want to wish for "warmth," "wealth," and "company,"

not if such a wish is so _exclusive_.

Ashok Karra, blog: Rethink.

Web archive: YAOFl