There is another sky

There is another sky,
Ever serene and fair,
And there is another sunshine,
Though it be darkness there;
Never mind faded forests, Austin,
Never mind silent fields -
Here is a little forest,
Whose leaf is ever green;
Here is a brighter garden,
Where not a frost has been;
In its unfading flowers
I hear the bright bee hum:
Prithee, my brother,
Into my garden come!

            The poem “There is Another Sky” by Emily Dickinson is a poem for her brother Austin. She uses nature as a means to express the message she has for him. The poem makes me feel hopeful and positive since it is very optimistic and bright. The lines “Here is a brighter garden” and “And there is another sunshine” demonstrate the optimism and hope within the poem.

            The chronology of “There is Another Sky” does not have to be arbitrary for the poem to make sense. A variant sequence could serve the same narrative purpose. There are no stanzas or events in the poem. The order in which aspects of nature are presented creates an optimistic message. The last two lines of the poem “Prithee, my brother, Into my garden come!” are significant to the chronology and the positioning of these lines enhances the ending of the poem. This is done by providing a challenge or invitation to partake of an entirely different point of view that is not dull or full of despair.

            The author’s attitude towards the subject seems reasonably sincere. She indirectly makes a statement that there is a light, warmth and vibrant color in life guided by a desire to provide her brother with this hopeful and positive information. The voice of the poem is optimistic and we see this in the vocabulary throughout the poem. Dickenson uses words such as “serene”, “fair”, “brighter” and “unfading” to exemplify this optimism throughout the poem even the title “There is another Sky” implies a blatant sense of optimism and possibility of joyful alternatives. No examples of sound related figures of speech appear in the poem. However, in the first six lines of the poem there appears to be many “s” sounds (these occur before the dash in the poem which terminates the first six lines). After the dash sounds are softer and the cadence of the poem is gentler. The change of tone in the poem before and after the dash may be due to the fact that before the dash the author is pointing out negative perspectives and alternatives to her brother while after the dash she focuses on the positive only. The singular pursuit of the positive in the later half of the poem and the contrast of negatives and alternatives in the early part of the poem are the logical rationale for the change of sound and mood. The first half of the poem also points things out or creates distance using the expression “there is” while the second half of the poem uses “here is” which implies a greater sense of immediacy and the notion of giving or gifts.