dickinson poetry

Safe In Their Alabaster Chambers This poem, one of Dickinson's best-known works, contrasts the qualities of stillness with those of life. In the first stanza she emphasizes the timelessness of death; the "meek members of the resurrection" sleep in their coffins untouched by dawn or noon. They are sealed in, closed off from time and the world, by the oppressive weight of rafter and roof. The second stanza lists some of the joys of a …

…who have true "sagacity" or wisdom. The two readings do not contradict each other, however; rather the poet seems to be saying that people who are blinded by a narrow religion suffer twice. They cannot be aware of the realities of the world when they are alive, for they will not let themselves see what is really happening; and when they are dead, they will never have the chance to make up for their mistake.