Emily Dickinson

These Tested Our Horizon

poem 886

These Tested Our Horizon - meaning Summary

Ephemeral Figures on the Edge

The poem observes transient figures or possibilities that approach the speaker’s horizon and then vanish, compared to birds failing to attain a new latitude. Looking back at those near-arrivals yields a steady, pleasant memory, while looking forward produces uncertainty and risk, pictured as a rolling die and doubt. It contrasts the consoling clarity of retrospection with the insecure, chance-driven nature of anticipation.

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These tested Our Horizon Then disappeared As Birds before achieving A Latitude. Our Retrospection of Them A fixed Delight, But our Anticipation A Dice a Doubt

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