On That Dear Frame the Years Had Worn
poem 940
On That Dear Frame the Years Had Worn - meaning Summary
Memory Held in an Object
The poem treats a worn, cherished frame as a vessel of memory and presence. Dickinson likens it to the house where the speaker first encountered light, calling it a witness that preserves experience. The image of grave-stained hands placing the frame into the speaker’are suggests a paradox: objects can deny finality by keeping the dead effectively present through intimate remembrance. The poem reflects on continuity amid decay and loss.
Read Complete AnalysesOn that dear Frame the Years had worn Yet precious as the House In which We first experienced Light The Witnessing, to Us Precious! It was conceiveless fair As Hands the Grave had grimed Should softly place within our own Denying that they died.
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