Taking Off Emily Dickinson’s Clothes

I absolutely loved this poem.  First of all, I liked the images.  For example, the tiny buttons that take forever to unbutton, the image of her standing in her window, and the struggle with her undergarments.  Among the other images that captured my attentions were her hair “tumbling free” and also the inhale and sigh.  The idea of removing Dickinson’s clothes is somewhat amusing in itself, and also how he incorporates snippets of her words in his poem contributes to the lightheartedness.  However, I felt that the poem had an overall meaning, that was separated into two parts.  The poem is generally about getting into Emily Dickinson’s head through her work.  In the first section, Collins talks about the numerous layers of clothing he has to go to through to get to the nakedness, or the numerous layers of meaning in her work that one must go through to get to her true self.  He also talks about the buttons being so tiny and numerous it takes forever, and the complexity of her undergarments.  This suggests that her work is very complex, and the details and nuances are so minute, that it can be a very tedious and lengthy task to find her true meaning.  The change I see is at line 27.  To me, at that point, he goes beyond discussing her work and going into her mindset while she is writing.  With her hair tumbling free and the sudden dashes, I see a wild-eyed Emily Dickinson pouring herself into her work.  This is an interesting contrast with a quiet afternoon in Amherst, the carriage and fly image going through her brain, and the fact that it must be quiet enough to hear her inhale and exhale.