The bone that has no marrow;
What ultimate for that?
It is not fit for table,
For beggar, or for cat.A bone has obligations,
A being has the same;
A marrowless assembly
Is culpabler than shame.But how shall finished creatures
~Emily Dickinson
A function fresh obtain?—
Old Nicodemus’ phantom
Confronting us again!
Hmm…I don’t know?? “The bone that has no marrow” seems like maybe outer appearance without substance. Something hollow that should be full. A bone without marrow is not nourishment–it’s jut a bone. No one can get anything out of it.
In the second stanza, Dickinson moves from the example of the bone to what it represents–bones are obligated to contain marrow, just as beings are obligated to perform certain functions. “Marrowless” people are at fault for their own hollowness, she seems to be saying.
Is there a possibility of redemption? Can “finished creatures” achieve a new purpose if they’re already lacking marrow, substance? She doesn’t overtly offer an answer, but ends with “Old Nicodemus’ phantom.” Perhaps this is the answer–a resounding no. One who is hollow is a phantom.
The Emily Project 