Dear March, come in!

Who knocks? That April! Lock the door!

Fleire store engelskspråklege damer. Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) fekk berre publisert nokre få av sine 1800 dikt medan ho levde. Ei fullstendig samling av dikta hennar vart ikkje gjeven ut før i 1950, då The Poems of Emily Dickinson vart publisert av Thomas H. Johnson. «Dear March, come in» (nr. 1320) kjem her i ein noko modernisert versjon.

Dear March, come in!
How glad I am!
I hoped for you before.
Put down your hat –
You must have walked –
How out of breath you are!

Dear March, how are you?
And the rest?
Did you leave nature well?
Oh March, come right upstairs with me,
I have so much to tell!

I got your Letter, and the bird’s;
The maples never knew
That you were coming – I declare,
how red their faces grew!
But March, forgive me –
And all those hills
You left for me to hue;
There was no purple suitable,
You took it all with you.

Who knocks? That April!
Lock the door!
I will not be pursued!
He stayed away a year, to call
When I am occupied.
But trifles look so trivial
As soon as you have come
That blame is just as dear as praise
And praise as mere as blame.