Emily Dickinson

To Flee from Memory

To Flee from Memory - meaning Summary

Escaping Memory's Gravity

This short poem imagines escaping the burden of memory by gaining wings. Dickinson contrasts human constraint with birds’ effortless flight to suggest that memory confines thought and action. The image of men fleeing from the mind of man implies self-imposed imprisonment: memory is both collective and personal, shaping behavior and limiting freedom. The poem explores the wish to avoid recollection and the impossibility of wholly escaping inner life.

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To flee from memory Had we the Wings Many would fly Inured to slower things Birds with surprise Would scan the cowering Van Of men escaping From the mind of man

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