The Luxury to Apprehend
poem 815
The Luxury to Apprehend - meaning Summary
Desire as Nourishment
Dickinson compares brief contact with a beloved to an extravagant luxury that nourishes as much as food. Seeing or contemplating the beloved becomes an "Epicure" indulgence and a "banquet" that temporarily removes hunger and supplies spiritual sustenance. Even on ordinary days with scant literal provision, the consciousness of that person transforms scarcity into abundance. The poem frames intimacy and memory as sustaining, sumptuous alternatives to material nourishment.
Read Complete AnalysesThe Luxury to apprehend The Luxury ‘twould be To look at Thee a single time An Epicure of Me In whatsoever Presence makes Till for a further Food I scarcely recollect to starve So first am I supplied The Luxury to meditate The Luxury it was To banguet on thy Countenance A Sumptuousness bestows On plainer Days, whose Table far As Certainty can see Is laden with a single Crumb The Consciousness of Thee.
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