Not a Fly, But a King
by Robert W. Watson
(25 June 2001)

        I heard a Fly buzz--when I died--
        The Stillness in the Room
        Was like the Stillness in the Air--
        Between the Heaves of Storm--

        The eyes around--had wrung them dry--
        And Breaths were gathering firm
        For the last Onset--when the King
        Be witnessed--in the Room--

        I willed my Keepsakes--Signed away
        What portion of me be
        Assignable--and then it was
        There interposed a Fly--

        With Blue--uncertain stumbling Buzz--
        Between the light--and me--
        And then the Windows failed--and then
        I could not see to see--

    In her better known poems about death, Emily Dickinson has the speaker talking from the grave. At first, a reader may think that a grave is the ideal for a speaker to reflect upon the past and more particularly upon the moment of death itself. Unfortunately, in spite of the reflections, Dickinson does not offer much hope for mankind after death. Even though the speaker is conscious, this existence can hardly be called eternal life. Indeed, since the thoughts are preoccupied with death and the moment of death, the speaker is experiencing a form of everlasting death. In " I heard a Fly buzz," Dickinson suggests that no hope of blissfulness exists beyond death.

    First of all, this hopelessness begins with a disappointed expectation. The speaker is bracing herself, expecting a coming storm. Not only does the speaker await her storm, but the friends around her bed are weathering their own private storms as they weep for their dying friend. For the speaker, the moment before death is like the calm before the storm. During this calm, she "willed [her] Keepsakes-Signed away / What portion of [her] be / Assignable." The speaker undoubtedly reasoned that the goods of this life cannot withstand "the last Onset." Therefore, the speaker sets aside what is left of her attachments to this world--or so she thought. Soon she believes that she will witness a "King." But, instead of a great, momentous event taking place at the point of death, the speaker is surprised with the mere arrival of a fly.

    Next, this hopelessness continues with a disturbing revelation. The fly's appearance is disturbing because flies are associated with carrion and filth. The rotting flesh provides food for worms. In that the speaker is unable to assign her corpse to anyone, her last attachment to the world is consigned to flies. Also, a fly's association with Beelzebub is equally disturbing. As the Bible reveals, the Lord Jesus Christ identifies Beelzebub as Satan (Mark 3:23). Therefore, it is not the King of glory that comes, but rather "the prince of devils," or "the lord of the flies," that comes for the speaker at the time of death. The poem is an apology that the body is nothing more than food for maggots with the conscious-self being trapped in an endless reflection about death.

    Finally, this hopelessness exists in deep darkness. While the reader may think that the insignificant fly merely became magnified in the mind of the speaker, more than likely, the fly represents the prince of devils who blocks both physical and spiritual light. The windows are both the physical object through which light passes and the entrance to the soul--the eyes. For the speaker, no storm comes, only an "uncertain stumbling Buzz." The speaker has no hope because she is unable to "see to see." Regrettably, no assurance of eternal blissfulness occupies the mind of the speaker. If the speaker had any hope, any expectation of a great event, any chance to see the King, it is now clear that all is lost. The light is quenched forever.

    Even though "I heard a Fly buzz" offers no hope to mankind, Dickinson does correctly suggest that in the state of death, we shall be conscious. While we are flesh, we all possess a soul that will be quite aware of its surroundings after death. For Dickinson, this consciousness will be an everlasting contemplation about death. But for those redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, these believers will contemplate the goodness and grace of God Almighty. Indeed, not a storm, not a fly, but a King is coming to take believers to a world where "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Rev. 21:4). And, there will be no more flies.