To make a prairie

In Dickinson’s poem, the speaker elaborates on the centrality of the mental faculties in creation. As the speaker lists off the essential components of prairieland construction, they list “revery” (Line 3) after “One clover and a bee” (Line 2). In the first half of the poem, it sounds like the speaker says all three elements are equally as important to make a prairie. However, by the poem’s conclusion, the speaker changes their message and clarifies that “If bees are few” (Line 5), then “revery alone will do” (Line 4). If the bees are absent or diminished, then their type of physical and practical work and perseverance is gone. Instead of giving up, however, the speaker declares that the way forward is still possible with the help of the mental faculties. “Revery” (Line 3) specifically refers to the imagination, to having visions, to dreams. While these elements are at times looked down upon by society or disregarded as frivolous and insubstantial, Dickinson’s speaker validates their worth. These qualities—the ability to dream and imagine—are just as essential to the act of creation as physical production, if not more. Dickinson validates these skills by removing the elements of the bee and the clover by the poem’s conclusion.