"My period had come for Prayer-"

My period had come for Prayer-

No other Art - would do - 

My tactics missed a rudiment - 

Creator - Was it you?

God grows above - so those who pray 

Horizons - must ascend -

And so I stepped opon the North

To see this Curious Friend - 

His House was not - no sign had He - 

By Chimney - nor by Door - 

Could I infer his Residence - 

Vast Prairies of Air

Unbroken by a Settler - 

Were all that I could see - 

Infinitude - Had’st Thou no Face

That I might look on Thee?

The Silence condescended - 

Creation stopped - for me - 

But awed beyond my errand - 

I worshipped - did not “pray” - 

Fr 525

            “My period had come for Prayer” is written in Dickinson’s signature quatrains. Her use of the familiar ABCB rhyme scheme gives the poem a sing-song flow and draws the reader in, while the content of the poem takes the reader along on the speakers quest for divine connection.  In this poem, Dickinson investigates the idea of prayer, and ultimately questions the ability of human beings to intimately and personally connect with an infinite God. The poem opens with the speaker acknowledging her need for prayer, and insinuates that prayer alone is what can help her. The second stanza follows this journey, with the speaker stating that God is so transcendent, so above humanity that anyone wishing to reach Him must ascend in order to do so. The speaker then “stepped opon the North”(line 7)  to find God and communicate her prayer.

            Instead of finding God, the speaker is met with only with “vast prairies of air”(line 12). There is no signs for her to follow, no residence or home for to call on to speak with God. This is a turning point in the poem. Whereas before, the speaker was intent on her task to pray, now that the process has begun it is suddenly unclear whether this crucial task is even possible. She finds the air “unbroken by a settler”, insinuating that not only could that she herself not find God, but that no one else has either. While the idea that prayer is a fruitless endeavor seems that it would be a sad and lonely discovery, Dickinson draws a different conclusion for her speaker. Instead of hopelessness, the speaker finds sublimity and is left in absolute wonder at creation. The last line of the poem shows the complete turn around that has taken place since the first line.

While the poem opens with the assertion that it was the speaker’s time for prayer, the last line ends with the speaker worshiping instead. It is intriguing to examine the particular differences between “worship” and “prayer”, as Dickinson is clearly making a statement about them both.  Religion is an interesting theme in Dickinson’s poetry considering the context of her personal experience. While it seems that Dickinson was well versed in Christian theology, and yearned for the security of the belief, within her lifetime she refused to participate in a public profession of faith. In the essay “The Interrogative Mood of Emily Dickinson’s Quarrel with God”, by Richard Brantley, he makes the argument that Dickinson did believe in a God, but that she in many ways believed Him to be of questionable character. While he may have a point, poems like this must be considered as well. Here Dickinson does describe a God that is distant from humanity, which was an integral part of Brantley’s argument. However, the speaker of the poem does not fault God for this, and in fact worships him because of it. It is intriguing to examine the particular differences between “worship” and “prayer”, as Dickinson is clearly making a statement about them both.  With “prayer”, there is the understanding that it is a two-way conversation. A prayer entails a hearer, someone to listen to your problem or petition and to decide whether or not to intervene. Prayer implicates response, even if that response is the denial of action. For prayer to be a sensible act, God must be involved in the personal matters of human beings. Worship differentiates from prayer in that it does not require, and is not seeking, a direct response. Worship is the act of showing honor and reverence for the divine. Prayer is the communication of personal, intimate matters, while worship comes from a place outside of oneself, beyond the microcosm of personal concerns or experience. In this poem, Dickinson asserts that the inability to find God through prayer is not cause for sorrow, as his creation is so awe inspiring that it compels worship instead, and that worship may be the only true conduit for  connection with God. 

            

Brantley, Richard E. “THE INTERROGATIVE MOOD OF EMILY DICKINSON'S QUARREL WITH GOD.” Religion & Literature, vol. 46, no. 1, 2014, pp. 157–165., www.jstor.org/stable/24752995.