Bound a Trouble
poem 269
Bound a trouble And lives can bear it! Limit how deep a bleeding go! So many drops of vital scarlet Deal with the soul As with Algebra! Tell it the Ages to a cypher And it will ache contented on Sing&mdas h;at its pain as any Workman Notching the fall of the Even Sun!
Bound a Trouble - meaning Summary
Pain Reduced to Measure
The poem argues that suffering becomes bearable when it is confined and quantified. Dickinson imagines binding a trouble, setting limits on its depth, and treating drops of pain as countable units. By reducing anguish to a problem—an algebraic calculation or a cipher—the self can endure it with a weary composure. The final image compares the sufferer to a workman marking the day’s end, implying routine, acceptance, and the steady passage of time as ways to live with pain rather than be overwhelmed by it.
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