The Gorko Gazette

Emily Dickinson Blues

I told you Sue, you were the shore, and I was just the sea
Yeah, I told you Sue, you were the shore, and I was just the sea
I asked you when the storm would come and wash you back to me

I wrote you in the morning heat, before the world awoke
Yes, I wrote you in the morning heat, before the world awoke
My heart was like a burning coal before the furnace spoke

I called you my imaginative world, my dearest and my best
Oh, I called you my imaginative world, my dearest and my best
I said my heavy spirit only wanted you for rest

We sat together on the mat, beneath the evening air
Yeah, we sat together on the mat, beneath the evening air
I told you that the Sabbath day was sweeter with you there

I said the world was cold and wide, but we could find a home
Yes, the world was cold and wide, but we could find a home
Just two girls in New England who would never have to roam

Oh, the soul selects her company, then she shuts the door
Yes, the soul selects her company, then she shuts the door
And that indigo ink won’t wash out anymore

I look across the lawn to where my Susan keeps her bed
Yeah, I look across the lawn to where my Susan keeps her bed
There are words between us two that never will be said

Sue, you are my avalanche, my choice and my decree
Oh, Sue, you are my avalanche, my choice and my decree
When you moved into the Evergreens, you moved right into me

I sent you pages silver-pinned, I sent you words of fire
Yeah, I sent you pages silver-pinned, I sent you words of fire
But you became my brother’s wife and curbed my soul’s desire

They call you sister on the street, but you’re my only map
Yeah, they call you sister on the street, but you’re my only map
I’m a captive to the heavy blues you hold inside your lap

Nobody knows the shorthand of the letters that we wrote
No, nobody knows the shorthand of the letters that we wrote
Just a lifetime of devotion hidden in a folded note

Oh, the soul selects her company, then she shuts the door
Yes, the soul selects her company, then she shuts the door
And that indigo ink won’t wash out anymore

I went down to the garden, but the gate was locked up tight
Yes, I went down to the garden, and the gate was locked up tight
There’s a heavy kind of blue settling in my room tonight

I wrote a letter to the world, but no answer ever came
I wrote a letter to the world, but no answer ever came
Now the fly is on the window, buzzing out my name

The neighbors walk the street, they think I’m doing fine
Yeah, the neighbors walk the street, they think I’m doing fine
But this quiet white dress is a solitary sign

I’m looking out my window at the Homestead’s brick and stone
Yeah, I’m looking out my window at the Homestead’s brick and stone
Ever since my dear Austin moved next door, I’ve been alone

I send my little baking pans across the grassy lawn
I send my little baking pans across the grassy lawn
With a hidden scrap of poetry before the light is gone

The Evergreens are laughing, they’re drinking currant wine
Yeah, the Evergreens are laughing, they’re drinking currant wine
But the shadow on my brother’s house is pulling close to mine

I think about my Master, but I never say his name
Yeah, I think about my Master, but I never say his name
Just a ghost inside a letter that I cannot quite reclaim

Oh, the soul selects her company, then she shuts the door
Yes, the soul selects her company, then she shuts the door
And that indigo ink won’t wash out anymore

I looked out at the mountain, it was purple in the sun
Yeah, I looked out at the mountain, it was purple in the sun
But the afternoon is ending, and the killing has begun

That slanted light of winter comes to hurt my very soul
That slanted light of winter comes to hurt my very soul
It leaves a different kind of shadow, and a different kind of hole

They tell me faith is a fine thing for a person who can see
Yeah, they tell me faith is a fine thing for a person who can see
But microscopes are better when the blues get hold of me

The carriage held just two of us, it was driving mighty slow
That carriage held just two of us, it was driving mighty slow
We passed the school and fields, but we had a ways to go

Oh, the soul selects her company, then she shuts the door
Yes, the soul selects her company, then she shuts the door
And that indigo ink won’t wash out anymore

The clock is ticking heavy, staring at the floor
That old clock is ticking heavy, staring at the floor
No carriage is gonna stop outside my front door

I’ve been dying twice already just to see if I could stand
Yeah, I’ve been dying twice already just to see if I could stand
Now I’m waiting for the third time in this empty-hearted land

The doctor says it’s Bright’s disease, my eyes are growing dim
The doctor says it’s Bright’s disease, my eyes are growing dim
Tell Lavinia to burn the poems I didn’t give to him

Yeah, tell Vinnie burn the papers…
Let the fire take the blues…
Don’t let the world see what I wanted it to lose

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Image: Dickinson children painting.jpeg