Journal 27

I am completely fascinated with Emily Dickinson's ability to match up the lines of her poetry with the rhythm of Amazing Grace. I guess it would be similar to me adding my own lyrics to the melody of a popular song today, but it still is not an easy task. Amazing Grace was a religious song. If my history lessons were correct, I believe the song was created by a slave. It was a very spiritual and inspiring song. Emily Dickinson was considered to be a very spiritual person. She believed in a higher power, but she did not attend church. This was considered obscene during her time period because attending church was considered a must. Like I said, she had faith in a God. She just found the people that attended church to be very hypocritical. I can understand where she is coming from because I was an avid church goer a couple years back. One day I saw a different, ugly side of my pastor, and it affected how I looked at my religious orientation. I haven't been back to that church since, and it makes me self reflect on my personal beliefs compared to the beliefs that I have been preached to all my life. Similar to Emily Dickinson, I still and whole heartedly believe in God.In the lyrics of Amazing Grace, "I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see."I feel connected with God more now than I ever did sitting in a church pew. I have a connection with a higher power, and I live a life that reflects that without judging others. I think Emily Dickinson was ahead of her time by ignoring conformity and having her own beliefs. She showed that she was a committed Christian through her work and felt no need to show it off her commitment to others.Using the Amazing Grace rhythm for her poetry was her own way of showing her faith. It is inspiring to see a woman with similar beliefs to me take a stand in an introverted manner. She avoided conflict between the judgmental people and chose a different way to share her piece.