Ascertain: A Collection After Emily Dickinson
By Mia Karalis
I. The Trepidations of Using a Microscope — in response to “Faith” Is A Fine Invention
Microscopes are a fine invention
For gentlemen who search!
They elucidate the unknown
Within the Parameters of a petri dish
But upon closer examination -
When magnifying obscures
And blurs the focus - of Fact and Faith -
Through the lenses of Inquiry -
They prove unsuccessful
In times of Uncertainty!
II. Quilt of Lies — in response to Tell All the Truth but Tell It Slant
When weaving a Quilt of lies
Those careful enough to Disguise
The hideous face shrouded beneath
Will tell the Stories they choose to bequeath
Behold the Power of telling tales
Is one of Skill, a way to prevail
Untold secrets - suffocating - an unrepented Sin -
Coated with sweet stories - still bitter within -
As flavored History begins to unravel,
The trusting road of Reassurance turns to gravel
Forgetting the past, a tardy gift
Leaves room for the future, to set the mind adrift
Savored memories struggling to be salvaged
Buried in the Universe of the past, whose archives invalid
But the unsweetened truth, one can’t seem to remember
Stories sewn together with fabricated lies - woven by the Pretender -
Behold the Power of telling tales
Though beware the Destruction they entail
The untold secrets - suffocating - of generations lived -
Coated with sweet stories - still bitter within -
III. It was not Love, for I didn’t stay, — in response to It Was Not Death, For I Stood Up,
It was not Love, for I didn’t stay,
And all those that are loved, never leave -
It was not Bliss, for the chimes of contentment
Never jingled, in squally winds
It was not Passion, for in my heart
I felt Mistrals - float -
Nor Lust - for just my naked thoughts
Could keep a Basin, full -
And yet, it tasted, like them all,
The Relationships I have witnessed -
The caress of a cupid’s bow,
Performed ritually, beneath the Altar -
Reminded me, of mine
As if my kinship was quantified,
In units of touch
And could not be measured without a hand
That grabbed my Soul, from leaving
When my heart ticked - anxiously -
Beating for the crave - of the starry sky -
Or mornin’ Dreams - of false realities -
Repealed by the Sun
But most, like Ambivalence - yearning - indifference -
Caught in the eye of familiarity -
That sweeps away all signs of choice -
And so I journey, across emotion -
To untether - my Heart
IV. Much Sense is Insanity — in response to Much Madness is Divinest Sense
Much Sense is Insanity -
That brews within Mortal minds
And festers in the garden of symmetry -
The convenience of Conventionalism -
Stems from the deficiencies of human capacity
To perceive beyond the Horizon -
Of structures, built upon Consensus
That lack the rationale of variance -
And equate Wisdom with conformity -
Yet, the truest form of intellect
Is spoken from lips, unbridled by filtered seals -
That do not convert logic into likeness
But forage through the queries of the Dissent
To find a crooked trunk amidst the Cypress grove
An anomalous practice - that tempers the soul -
And breaks the Chain of assimilation - the starkest Madness
V. Yesterday – is Composed of... — in response to Forever – is composed of Nows –
Yesterday – is composed of Thens –
‘Tis Dissolved time –
A temporal dimension –
That lives within the cavities of remembrance –
From prior – experienced There –
An accumulation of Dates – each belonging to a memory –
Of finite capacity –
That exhales into the void of the past –
The forgotten Days – once marked in red ink –
Flow steadily through – the Hourglass of existence –
Permissible to be washed away – by the waning tide –
Or dwell ashore amidst the crowded sand of Now –
Artist’s Statement
As a teenage girl navigating high school, self-discovery, and acceptance, I, along with millions of others, often grapple with uncertainty in life; uncertainty about the future, about the world around us, about the unfamiliar emotions and experiences we encounter in this tumultuous stage of life.
Emily Dickinson likewise experienced and embraced the unknown; much of her work explores the complexities that lie beneath conventional wisdom as she frequently employs contradiction, emotional ambiguity, and nonconformity in her writing. My collection seeks to critique, invert, or expand upon Dickinson’s ideas. Each of my poems dismantles something people accept as certain, uniting them in a collective questioning of what society deems “unquestionable.”
Ultimately, these poems offer no resolutions, but instead accept the discomfort of not knowing. My hope is that readers will leave feeling uneasy, with a greater willingness to challenge societal conventions.
In “The Trepidations of Using a Microscope,” I explore the opposing side of Dickinson’s claim that faith is insufficient in times of crises, by highlighting the drawbacks of viewing life solely through a scientific lens. While the poem is not intended to refute the credibility of science, it encourages readers to consider their reliance on faith and personal values as a bedrock of assurance.
“Quilt of Lies” addresses the consequences of Dickinson’s belief that indirectly telling the truth is the best way to make it digestible. The metaphorical quilt represents inherited stories as well as the gradual stitching together of selective truths, based on the “slanted” information we gather from one another. In a world full of partisan news and propaganda in the media, the poem suggests that perhaps bluntness is better than blindness when it comes to speaking honestly about the truth.
The repeated opening line of “It was not Love, for I didn’t stay” reflects Dickinson’s gradual unravelling of emotions, with each negation both narrowing and complicating the meaning of love. Influenced by society’s idealization of romance, the speaker is initially inclined to understand her experience as true love, yet soon realizes its falsity upon true reflection. The poem alludes to how contemporary romance fueled by social media culture and dating apps has oversimplified the feeling of love, prompting readers to reexamine the authenticity of their own relationships.
Responding to Dickinson’s idea that perceived madness is the truest form of wisdom, “Much Sense is Insanity” seeks to explore the inverse to her argument: Conventional rationality equates to complete lunacy. The poem investigates how societal notions of conformity have become associated with “correctness,” and cautions readers to avoid immersing themselves in an echo chamber of homogeneity. Instead, it asks them to look beyond societal beliefs and independently discover their own form of wisdom through exploration of diverse, original perspectives.
With a focus on the significance of time, “Yesterday – is Composed of…” expands upon Dickinson’s understanding of “forever” as a continual sequence of current experiences. The piece examines the impermanence of the past and the accumulation of new memories as time progresses, urging readers to ground their mind in the present. The final lines pose readers with an ultimatum: To let go of the past, or allow it to occupy the space of future memories.
Mia Karalis is a sixteen-year-old poet and writer whose work is largely shaped by her experience growing up in the suburbs of Pennsylvania. Much of her writing navigates themes of introspection, identity, and understanding within the context of today's world. Although her poetry reflects a contemporary perspective, she remains heavily influenced by the styles and voices of some of her favorite nineteenth-century poets such as Emily Dickinson.
