Emily Dickinson's poem "I Like to see it lap the Miles-"

Emily Dickinson's poem "I Like to see it lap the Miles-" ostensibly is a poem depicting two modes of transportation; a train as characterized by a horse. While this is conclusive Dickinson also appears to be using the poem to state another mode of transportation: poetry. Feelings about poetry are expressed in line three, "And stop to feed itself at Tanks-", poetry feeds the mind, which feeds the world. In other words poetry becomes self-generating …

…by a horse, she gives us a poem about poetry. She shows us that although poetry may not necessarily possess a conventional form, it will emerge a subject, pare its shape, give us music in the form of a "-Hooting stanza-" and return us back from whence we came, "At its own stable door-". As "Let your fingers do the walking" relates to the yellow pages; let your mind do the thinking relates to poetry.