Emily Dickinson, "I had no time to Hate"

Hi everyone --

There's too much news, but here are two things I found illuminating about our current state. The "If Books Could Kill" podcast pointed to an older episode where they skewered Hillbilly Elegy. It is worth listening to in its entirety, even if you're sick of Trump-related news. It's really a discussion about what narratives liberals want to hear. The hosts make it clear that Vance is extremely reactionary, but mainstream praise for his work was unceasing nonetheless.

Also, this episode of WNYC's "On the Media" is essential listening, especially the interview with Iyad el-Baghdadi on types of colonialism and the way forward. Make sure you hear his talk about being a 4th generation refugee and how it felt to be granted citizenship. The opening of the episode, about the utter mess of immigration policy, is also revelatory. I personally didn't realize how much the U.S. had done to help establish gangs in countries now plagued by epidemic levels of gang violence.

The GOP endorses mass deportation. The news gives it an "it can't happen here" treatment

OK, one more thing. SCOTUS corruption is enraging, and I've found talking about it makes people much more interested in what they can do to change things.

Here's a much tougher issue to address. Immigration, legal or otherwise, has been thoroughly demonized. We've got people who will call children "illegal" and say with a straight face that it is okay if people die at the border than be welcomed as Americans. You've probably seen the polling: over half of Americans say they support mass deportations. This would, of course, mean that camps and armed police raids become more present in the U.S. than they ever have been.

So let's take a look at a photo from last night's RNC:

A crowd of delegates proudly holds up signs saying "Mass Deportation Now." Anyone dismissing the potential harm of this should be ignored. This is not the behavior of a healthy citizenry, much less a serious society or polity. In general, the news has responded with "Republicans talk a big game, but whatever." I urge everyone to learn from those already affected by policing and document issues. There's plenty of mini-authoritarians and vicious bureaucrats in the U.S. If you haven't dealt with them, count yourself lucky.

Radley Balko has a good piece at his Substack about what deporting 15 million people would entail. Spoiler: it isn't good.

Emily Dickinson, "I had no time to Hate" (478)

For me, this little poem starts with trying to look into a quiet, lush landscape painting and wish yourself there. I'll explain. "I had no time to Hate – / Because / The Grave would hinder me" doesn't just open the poem. It is a statement we believe ourselves brave enough to say and mean. I'd love to think that I'm strong enough not to hold a grudge or obsess over people who've abandoned me. I would love to imagine myself a person who could grasp that life will end, so I shouldn't waste a moment. "The Grave would hinder Me," so why am I wasting time being angry and delusional? Don't I realize that "Life [is] not so / Ample I / Could finish – Enmity?"

So yeah. I'm in front of the landscape painting – maybe there are hills in the distance, a great big golden plain in front of me, a purple-orange sky – and for a second, I'm there. I'm in it. Natural beauty is all around me, this is the true joy of living, and holy I just thought about someone who was viciously neglectful from over 10 years ago. Life may not be ample enough to finish "Enmity," but some moments demand enmity be given its due.

I had no time to Hate (478)
Emily Dickinson

I had no time to Hate —
Because
The Grave would hinder Me —
And Life was not so
Ample I
Could finish — Enmity —

Nor had I time to Love —
But since
Some Industry must be —
The little Toil of Love —
I thought
Be large enough for Me —

So I think this poem presents a problem. There's an idea we wish to be true of ourselves, that we have no time to hate. And that idea is linked to a world where we see what's best in life and dwell only there. We stop to smell the flowers, look at the Lego sets in Barnes and Noble, write poems about tarot cards, actually enjoy driving and walking. Can we wish ourselves into the painting? Into some artist's landscape study?

Dickinson lets reality crash onto her first stanza: "Nor had I time to Love." No time to hate is no time to love; the constant is a lack of time. That ideal self who can brush off every insult or indignity simply does not exist. All we really do is try at love. "[S]ince / Some Industry must be – / The little Toil of Love – / I thought / Be large enough for Me." Her poem switches between an aspiration for perfection ("I had no time to Hate. Really. I was too busy working on my album and preparing for my cameo on Amazon's The Boys") and what might be an admission of failure. "The little Toil of Love – / I thought / Be large enough for Me" could be a statement that a relationship didn't work out. However, I'm tempted to read it as asking someone out. I don't have time for hate or love, but maybe we can hang out at the 1860 Amherst Massachusetts version of Long John Silver's? Do you like Manhattan Clam Chowder or New England style?

From the Archives

This is a new idea I'm trying out. There's a lot on this website I have to edit, but poems, philosophical quotes, and strong reactions to the news abound. I revisited the second entry I wrote for this blog, on Yi Lei's short poem "Postperpetual." You want to look at the poem. I didn't think it was possible to pack so many tears into so few words.

Please do support this blog/newsletter and spread the word about it. I appreciate all the comments you give and I'm compiling the neat things you say about Encouragement on the "What Readers Say" page. I'd like a few hundred more subscribers and soon, so any help you can give with that is appreciated.