"Tomorrow" By Emily Dickinson [Analysis]

"Tomorrow" whose location[1] The Wise deceives[2] Though its hallucination[3] Is last that leaves [4] Tomorrow thou Retriever[5] Of every tare [6] Of Alibi art thou[7] Or ownest where?[8]
Poem 1367 [F1417] ""Tomorrow" whose location" Analysis by David Preest [Poem]

This wisdom poem on 'Tomorrow' was sent as a letter (L490) to Mrs Holland with the preface 'Austin will come tomorrow.' The Hollands had invited Austin to visit them when he was next in New York, but he was slow to respond to the invitation, and 'Austin will come tomorrow' is sarcastic, as Emily's next letter (L491) to Mrs Holland shows. Even though 'the Wise' cannot pin down the location of Tomorrow, the fancy that we shall get there is the last thing that leaves us at death. Of course when it comes, it brings with it the memory of 'every tare' that has sprung up in the gardens of our lives. We can only wonder whether Tomorrow has an alibi or where it lives.
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