Emily Dickinson

The Sea Said ‘Come’ to the Brook

The Sea Said ‘Come’ to the Brook - meaning Summary

Longing and Identity Exchange

This poem stages a brief dialogue between sea and brook to explore desire, transformation, and conflicting senses of self. The Sea urges the Brook to become expansive, while the Brook seeks growth without losing its identity. In the second stanza the Sea addresses itself, asserting superiority and claiming past affection before dismissing earned wisdom as irrelevant. The exchange suggests tensions between assimilation and autonomy, and between youthful yearning and hardened authority.

Read Complete Analyses

The Sea said ‘Come’ to the Brook – The Brook said ‘Let me grow’ – The Sea said ‘Then you will be a Sea – I want a Brook – Come now’! The Sea said ‘Go’ to the Sea – The Sea said ‘I am he You cherished’ – ‘Learned Waters – Wisdom is stale – to Me’

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