A little road not made of man,
Enabled of the eye,
Accessible to thill of bee,
Or cart of butterfly.If town it have, beyond itself,
~Emily Dickinson
’T is that I cannot say;
I only sigh,—no vehicle
Bears me along that way.
I too can only sigh. It seems Emily was often wondering what it would be like to experience the world as its tinier denizens do. This road is doubly inaccessible because it is little and not made for humans, and is also a road through the air. It is for butterflies’ carts and bees’ wagons. (I had to look up “thill.”)
The notion of butterflies and bees pulling little carts is amusing. Or are they driving them? What on earth would insects do with carts? The idea that this road is for vehicles I find quite bemusing. Dickinson must have been in a whimsical mood when she penned this one.
The Emily Project 