Autumn Mourning

“Nature—sometimes sears a Sapling—” (1862) - Emily Dickinson

“Nature—sometimes sears a Sapling—

Sometimes—scalps a Tree—

Her Green People recollect it

When they do not die—

Fainter leaves—to Further Seasons—

Dumbly testify—

We—who have the Souls—

Die oftener—Not so vitally—”

Emily Dickinson relates God to Mother Nature in the confines of this secure and beautiful poem. An up and coming philosophy of the mid-1800s, naturalism is employed in a great deal of Dickinson's work. She sees and pays tribute to the great suffering of man, and the reality of existence. Often Dickinson does speak to the wonders of love, but not without the poignancy of impermanence. More specifically this poem deals with the concept of mortal life after death like many of Dickinson's poems; such as “I heard a Fly buzz—when I died—” and “The Bustle in a House.” Communicating the frequent state of apathy toward death, Dickinson also relays the pain felt by those who are forced to live in the absence of others. As “fainter leaves” are recycled and give life to “further seasons,” those who feel grief from a comprehension of past summers and springs “die oftener,” while living in a wintry void. The last line defines suffering as the act of dying without the relief of actually expiring; to die while living. Dickinson expresses how Nature's course is the cruelest and the most unbearable. A sapling is seared, and a tree scalped, so that more verdant things may live. In other words, life subsists on the products of death. Similar to Disappearance of the Universe, the poem contains a theme that conveys how nothing is beautiful, not even in nature, as life comprises suffering, and death, tragedy.

In translating her timeless messages to an embittered world, Dickinson relied heavily on her numerous skills as a poet. Dickinson doubles the effectiveness of this poem by personifying improper nouns. This practice makes inanimate objects human, and therefore worthy of the reader's sympathy and connection. She also eases in her harsh themes through use of impeccable rhythm. Using hyphens to separate significant clauses and fragments, she makes beautiful phrases unforgettable, such as “scalps a Tree,” “dumbly testify,” “die oftener.” These separations also place emphasis on important words like “we,” in order to include the reader with the fate of trees. The separation of clauses and fragments adds to the natural and magnetic rhythm of the poem. By cutting clauses into syllables instead of lines, thus allowing the reader to give pause to certain ideas and thoughts by means other than increasing line number. While disjointed in the use of hyphens, Dickinson reconnects the reader and specific phrases with alliteration. Even though the fragment “fainter leaves” is physically separated from “to further seasons,” they are both connected mentally in the readers mind with the phonetic 'f' sound. Dickinson does this to empower distinct diction, while remaining accessible to audiences. Alliteration also aids in creating a smooth-flowing rhythm. “Sometimes sears a sapling” roles right off the tongue, and reverberates easily in the mind. All of these tools could be useful in enhancing creative writing, and making it as precise as possible.