A Night There Lay the Days Between
poem 471
A Night There Lay the Days Between - meaning Summary
Night as Temporal Hinge
Dickinson’s short poem frames night as a liminal interval that separates and momentarily unites past and future. The speaker observes night as a slow, almost invisible process that must be endured or watched until it dissolves. Imagery of grains on a shore conveys incremental, barely perceptible change, so that the passing of time is only noticed in retrospect when night has ended. The poem compresses a philosophical reflection on temporal perception into a quiet, contemplative moment.
Read Complete AnalysesA Night there lay the Days between The Day that was Before And Day that was Behind were one And now ’twas Night was here Slow Night that must be watched away As Grains upon a shore Too imperceptible to note Till it be night no more
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