Dare you see a Soul at the White Heat?

by Emily Dickinson

Dare you see a Soul at the White Heat?
Then crouch within the door —
Red — is the Fire's common tint —
But when the vivid Ore

Has vanquished Flame's conditions
It quivers from the Forge
Without a color, but the light
Of unanointed Blaze.

Least Village boasts its Blacksmith,
Whose Anvil's even ring
Stands symbol for the finer Forge
That soundless tugs — within —

Refining these impatient Ores
With Hammer, and with Blaze
Until the Designated Light
Repudiate the Forge —


Monadnock Valley Press > Dickinson