Monday Music - Opinion and Truth

Emily Dickenson came up in a conversation a couple days ago. It reminded me of this song I wrote sixteen years ago. I just can't believe it's been that long. If you're very familiar with Dickenson's poetry, you may recognize a number of quotations.


DEAR EMILY
Dear Emily,
I read your letter.
I was taken by your
Wit and sensibility.
Your curiosity
Stood tall in every honest word.
But Emily,
The world is different now.
Your words committed into hands
Of those who cannot see.
The light's been put away--
A neighbor holds the lamp
To witness your good-bye.

CHORUS
Opinion is a flitting thing,
But truth outlasts the Sun.
If then we cannot own them both,
Possess the oldest one.

Dear Emily,
I saw your wonder--
The childlike awe you held
For garden bees and butterflies.
You looked beyond the scars
To find the place where meanings are.
So Emily,
You then retreated
To a private world--
Tradition could not swallow you.
Hidden behind your door
You looked beyond the world
Believing there was more.

CHORUS
Opinion is a flitting thing,
But truth outlasts the Sun.
If then we cannot own them both,
Possess the oldest one.

© Words and Music by Dave Burkum.  The chorus lyric is a poem by Emily Dickenson.
Copyright 1997 by Dave Burkum (DBM&M, PO Box 18771, Mpls, MN 55418).