A Little Road Not Made Man
A Little Road Not Made Man - meaning Summary
Alternative Path of Imagination
The poem imagines a tiny, nonhuman path—"not made of man"—that is traversed by bees and butterflies but not by people. Dickinson contrasts the effortless movement of insects with the speaker’s inability to follow, turning the path into a symbol of an intimate, elusive realm beyond ordinary human access. The speaker expresses a quiet longing rather than frustration: a sigh acknowledges wonder and separation. The poem registers themes of yearning, limits of human experience, and the appeal of a delicate, natural order that remains observed but unattainable.
Read Complete AnalysesA little road not made of man, Enabled of the eye, Accessible to thill of bee, Or cart of butterfly. If town it have, beyond itself, ‘T is that I cannot say; I only sigh,–no vehicle Bears me along that way.
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