Death of a Flower

"Why, I will lend until just then,

But not an hour more!" (Dickenson)

I had to read this poem a few times before I understood it's meaning. It seems as though the narrator isn't interested in the daffodil when it is in its prime - beautiful, alive, basically the flower everyone wants. She will lend you the flower during this stage, but must have it back when it starts to decay and die. This goes back to what Dr. Jerz said in class about Dickenson having an obsession with death. It is odd that someone would only appreciate the death of a flower, and not the life which is most normally sought. Perhaps the narrator sees a beuaty in death that most people do not; she appreciates the morbid. I didn't realize there was anything to appreciate...