Two Butterflies went out at Noon

Two Butterflies went out at Noon— (533)
by Emily Dickinson

Two Butterflies went out at Noon—
And waltzed above a Farm—
Then stepped straight through the Firmament
And rested on a Beam—

And then—together bore away
Upon a shining Sea—
Though never yet, in any Port—
Their coming mentioned—be—

If spoken by the distant Bird—
If met in Ether Sea
By Frigate, or by Merchantman—
No notice—was—to me—

http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19365

I love how Dickinson uses word structure to make us stop and look at an emphasized phrase. Dickinson not only has line breaks, but also dashes, and capitalized words to emphasize her writing. I guess in this poem’s case she uses the dashes to indicate a “full rest” instead of the half-rest that the traditional line break indicates. She eschews punctuation and instead uses the dashes to indicate the pauses, which makes for a more interesting and fresh reading. The dashes not only serve as line breaks, but also make you want to continue reading. Since words with dashes in them usually modify another word, every time I come to a line I want to keep on going. But after seeing the blank white of the rest of the sheet it is almost as if I have to remind myself to look at the carriage returned next line. It helps give the poem suspense, and that helps the poem’s last line. Throughout the poem you expect a warm fuzzy fluffy piece, but then the last line shows you that the persona was lonely, and perhaps melancholy.