This Emily Dickinson quote is one of my favorites, because it does not focus on getting a book published, or writing the best poem possible, but on the fact that all those things and others are possible, with writing and with life. It is a quote about hope, as much as it is about writing.

What makes this quote particularly poignant are the circumstances of Emily Dickinson’s life. She wrote in private. Only a few long distance correspondence knew about her writing, but no one else did. A very small number of her poems were published anonymously during her life, but the great bulk of them were published after her death.

Her poems have shaped the world, but she will never know that. Some might see that as tragic, but I see that as wonderful and the truth. Even if you become a famous writer during your lifetime you will not know what your long term impression will be. For me that is good reason to dwell in possibility.

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