His Feet Are Shod with Gauze
poem 916
His Feet Are Shod with Gauze - meaning Summary
Bright Idleness, Sacred Labor
The poem presents a lightly allegorical portrait of a figure lavishly dressed—gold helmet, gauze-shod feet, onyx and chrysoprase breast—whose work and leisure are both musical: labor is a chant and idleness a tune. Dickinson closes with a wish to possess the uncomplicated sensory life of a bee among clovers at noon. The poem contrasts ornate, almost ceremonial imagery with a yearning for simple, sunlit experience.
Read Complete AnalysesHis Feet are shod with Gauze His Helmet, is of Gold, His Breast, a Single Onyx With Chrysophrase, inlaid. His Labor is a Chant His Idleness a Tune Oh, for a Bee’s experience Of Clovers, and of Noon!
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