Wild Nights!
Wild Nights!
Were I with thee,
Wild Nights should be
Our luxury!
Futile the winds
To a heart in port,
Done with the compass,
Done with the chart!
Rowing in Eden!
Ah! the sea!
Might I but moor
To-night in Thee!
Poem source: A hand book of Emily Dickinson(An evaluation of her poetry)
UNDERSTANDING THE POEM
Brief Summary:
The poet addresses the imaginary wild nights, and conjectures that if her lover were her, the nights will be full of enjoyment, presumably sexual enjoyment. The poet's heart is installed in a safe port, that is, firmly settled in the port of love.
Therefore, she does not fear any stormy winds which might upset a ship. Nor does she requires any compass of chart of a sea voyages, because hers is not an actual port or ship!They would be rowing in Eden, a heaven, and that is the sea. She wishes she could have moored, or safely anchored in her lover.
The theme of the poem:
It is an expression of the poet's desire for unbridled enjoyment of pleasures with her lover.
The theme has been expressed with the help of the metaphor of a sea voyages.