I could bring You Jewels—had I a mind to—
For a reader new to Dickinson, one of the most immediately striking things about this line is the use of caesura—that is, a mid-line pause. Dickinson frequently makes use of this device, and her poems are often sprinkled with hyphens, creating a halting rhythm. Here, two hyphens introduce a sense of hesitancy and meditativeness into a line that might otherwise come across as strident. The poem's speaker begins confidently with the word "I," revealing an unflinching sense of self, followed by the assertion that she could bring the addressee jewels if she desired. This bold, even brash statement is tempered by the cautiousness of the caesura, showing that the speaker is thoughtful as well as confident.
Berries of Bahamas—have I—
In the poem's list of potential gifts for the speaker's friend, Dickinson builds up to this moment, creating a small frenzy that reflects the excitement surrounding these objects. Concluding the list with "Berries of Bahamas," Dickinson uses alliterative "B" sounds to immerse readers, making these objects sound irresistible. However, the line's inverted syntax suggests the flaw in such gifts. "Berries of Bahamas" are foregrounded at the start of the line, while the "I," representing the speaker, is squeezed in at the end, following a caesura. This reflects the priorities that come with these novel gifts: the object itself receives attention, but the gift-giver, and the relationship between the giver and receiver, is lost.
Suits Me—more than those—
In contrast to the previously discussed line, this one syntactically foregrounds the speaker. The word "Me" falls early in the line, before a caesura, while "those"—referring to the odors, dyes, and berries—is underemphasized, floating between two hyphens. In this line, the speaker is describing her preference for the wildflower in the meadow over these other possible gifts. When the flower is the topic of discussion, the speaker shifts to the front of the line and becomes the focus, as if thriving in harmony with nature. Whereas the speaker, the addressee, and their relationship are obscured by the expensive items listed earlier in the poem, they are enhanced by the natural world.
Never a Fellow matched this Topaz—/And his Emerald Swing—
Towards the end of the poem, Dickinson shifts towards a vivid description of the flower, using unexpected figurative language to make it seem even more fascinating, rare, and strange than any of the costly gifts mentioned prior. One figurative device used here is personification. Dickinson refers to the flower's stem as "his Emerald Swing," the masculine pronoun making it seem like a living individual. Similarly, while the word "Fellow" can refer to inanimate objects, here it carries yet another suggestion of the flower as a specifically masculine, autonomous individual. Meanwhile, Dickinson metaphorically compares the flower to the gemstones topaz and emerald, making it seem similar to the "jewels" mentioned earlier—albeit even more valuable, since it is compared vividly to a specific type of jewel. Finally, the word "swing" to describe the flower's stem brings with it a suggestion of motion, again making the object seem lively, vibrant, and even conscious.
